Government Debt by Country
The General Government Debt by Country ranking compares nations by their year-over-year debt change as a share of GDP, ranking those with the largest reductions higher to reflect improved fiscal responsibility and reduced economic burdens.
Ranking summary
Mongolia tops the rankings in Government Debt to GDP, recording a drop from 64.49% to 46.79%. Venezuela follows with a reduction from 160.67% to 146.26%, while Portugal rounds out the top three, falling from 112.42% to 99.08%.- Across all 86 countries, the average year-over-year change was -1.16 percentage points% with a median change of -0.56 percentage points%.
- Overall, 49 countries improved in this area while 37 worsened. Click on a country to open the full country scorecard and see how it performs across a range of key indicators.
| Rank | Country | Most Recent Year | Previous Year | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mongolia | 46.79% (2023) | 64.49% (2022) | -17.69 pp |
| 2 |  Venezuela | 146.26% (2023) | 160.67% (2022) | -14.40 pp |
| 3 |  Portugal | 99.08% (2023) | 112.42% (2022) | -13.33 pp |
| 4 |  Georgia | 41.62% (2022) | 52.51% (2021) | -10.89 pp |
| 5 |  Greece | 168.87% (2023) | 179.59% (2022) | -10.72 pp |
| 6 |  Montenegro | 61.50% (2023) | 70.55% (2022) | -9.05 pp |
| 7 |  Ethiopia | 38.74% (2023) | 46.92% (2022) | -8.18 pp |
| 8 |  Cyprus | 77.41% (2023) | 85.60% (2022) | -8.18 pp |
| 9 |  Japan | 249.67% (2023) | 256.30% (2022) | -6.63 pp |
| 10 |  Colombia | 54.32% (2023) | 60.06% (2022) | -5.74 pp |
| 11 |  Albania | 59.81% (2023) | 65.55% (2022) | -5.73 pp |
| 12 |  Iceland | 62.24% (2023) | 67.36% (2022) | -5.12 pp |
| 13 |  Honduras | 41.98% (2023) | 46.97% (2022) | -4.99 pp |
| 14 |  Croatia | 63.02% (2023) | 67.78% (2022) | -4.76 pp |
| 15 |  Serbia | 48.91% (2023) | 53.50% (2022) | -4.58 pp |
| 16 |  Spain | 105.03% (2023) | 109.40% (2022) | -4.37 pp |
| 17 |  Saint Kitts and Nevis | 55.93% (2023) | 60.20% (2022) | -4.27 pp |
| 18 |  Switzerland | 33.32% (2023) | 37.19% (2022) | -3.88 pp |
| 19 |  Mauritius | 82.90% (2023) | 86.76% (2022) | -3.86 pp |
| 20 |  Italy | 134.79% (2023) | 138.35% (2022) | -3.55 pp |
| 21 |  Netherlands | 45.02% (2023) | 48.35% (2022) | -3.33 pp |
| 22 |  Slovenia | 69.22% (2023) | 72.48% (2022) | -3.26 pp |
| 23 |  Nicaragua | 41.68% (2023) | 44.64% (2022) | -2.96 pp |
| 24 |  Micronesia | 12.42% (2023) | 14.57% (2022) | -2.15 pp |
| 25 |  Hungary | 69.44% (2023) | 71.58% (2022) | -2.14 pp |
| 26 |  Germany | 62.66% (2023) | 64.79% (2022) | -2.13 pp |
| 27 |  Kyrgyzstan | 44.72% (2023) | 46.82% (2022) | -2.11 pp |
| 28 |  Costa Rica | 61.60% (2023) | 63.50% (2022) | -1.90 pp |
| 29 |  Slovakia | 56.05% (2023) | 57.74% (2022) | -1.70 pp |
| 30 |  Nauru | 20.11% (2023) | 21.72% (2022) | -1.62 pp |
| 31 |  Kiribati | 11.72% (2023) | 13.30% (2022) | -1.58 pp |
| 32 |  Tajikistan | 30.93% (2023) | 32.50% (2022) | -1.57 pp |
| 33 |  Türkiye | 29.26% (2023) | 30.80% (2022) | -1.54 pp |
| 34 |  France | 110.64% (2023) | 111.95% (2022) | -1.31 pp |
| 35 |  Panama | 52.39% (2023) | 53.68% (2022) | -1.29 pp |
| 36 |  Australia | 49.01% (2023) | 50.26% (2022) | -1.25 pp |
| 37 |  Malta | 50.40% (2023) | 51.63% (2022) | -1.23 pp |
| 38 |  Marshall Islands | 18.67% (2023) | 19.81% (2022) | -1.14 pp |
| 39 |  Turkmenistan | 4.67% (2023) | 5.77% (2022) | -1.11 pp |
| 40 |  Philippines | 56.47% (2023) | 57.39% (2022) | -0.92 pp |
| 41 |  Austria | 77.55% (2023) | 78.41% (2022) | -0.86 pp |
| 42 |  Peru | 31.17% (2023) | 31.85% (2022) | -0.68 pp |
| 43 |  Belarus | 40.72% (2023) | 41.30% (2022) | -0.58 pp |
| 44 |  Indonesia | 39.60% (2023) | 40.14% (2022) | -0.54 pp |
| 45 |  Vietnam | 34.37% (2023) | 34.74% (2022) | -0.37 pp |
| 46 |  Bulgaria | 32.92% (2023) | 33.11% (2022) | -0.19 pp |
| 47 |  South Korea | 37.85% (2018) | 38.01% (2017) | -0.16 pp |
| 48 |  Czech Republic | 42.38% (2023) | 42.52% (2022) | -0.14 pp |
| 49 |  Denmark | 29.66% (2023) | 29.70% (2022) | -0.04 pp |
| 50 |  Democratic Republic of the Congo | 14.37% (2023) | 14.35% (2022) | +0.02 pp |
| 51 |  Canada | 107.50% (2023) | 107.37% (2022) | +0.13 pp |
| 52 |  Ireland | 43.27% (2023) | 43.14% (2022) | +0.13 pp |
| 53 |  Kazakhstan | 19.87% (2017) | 19.68% (2016) | +0.19 pp |
| 54 |  Lithuania | 38.29% (2023) | 38.03% (2022) | +0.26 pp |
| 55 |  United Arab Emirates | 32.44% (2023) | 32.06% (2022) | +0.38 pp |
| 56 |  Poland | 49.59% (2023) | 49.20% (2022) | +0.40 pp |
| 57 |  Moldova | 35.31% (2023) | 34.90% (2022) | +0.40 pp |
| 58 |  Cambodia | 25.73% (2023) | 25.04% (2022) | +0.69 pp |
| 59 |  United Kingdom | 101.15% (2023) | 100.43% (2022) | +0.72 pp |
| 60 |  Brazil | 84.68% (2023) | 83.94% (2022) | +0.74 pp |
| 61 |  Belgium | 105.17% (2023) | 104.28% (2022) | +0.89 pp |
| 62 |  Luxembourg | 25.67% (2023) | 24.73% (2022) | +0.94 pp |
| 63 |  Thailand | 54.73% (2023) | 53.74% (2022) | +0.99 pp |
| 64 |  Russia | 19.55% (2023) | 18.51% (2022) | +1.04 pp |
| 65 |  Estonia | 19.31% (2023) | 18.27% (2022) | +1.04 pp |
| 66 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 32.22% (2023) | 31.01% (2022) | +1.20 pp |
| 67 |  El Salvador | 84.68% (2023) | 83.35% (2022) | +1.34 pp |
| 68 |  India | 83.02% (2023) | 81.68% (2022) | +1.34 pp |
| 69 |  Romania | 48.85% (2023) | 47.49% (2022) | +1.36 pp |
| 70 |  Israel | 61.94% (2023) | 60.49% (2022) | +1.45 pp |
| 71 |  Chile | 39.41% (2023) | 37.80% (2022) | +1.62 pp |
| 72 |  Latvia | 43.57% (2023) | 41.78% (2022) | +1.79 pp |
| 73 |  Uzbekistan | 32.51% (2023) | 30.53% (2022) | +1.99 pp |
| 74 |  Tanzania | 46.87% (2023) | 44.85% (2022) | +2.02 pp |
| 75 |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 87.14% (2023) | 84.66% (2022) | +2.48 pp |
| 76 |  United States | 123.01% (2023) | 120.44% (2022) | +2.57 pp |
| 77 |  Sweden | 36.37% (2023) | 33.75% (2022) | +2.62 pp |
| 78 |  North Macedonia | 54.50% (2023) | 51.56% (2022) | +2.95 pp |
| 79 |  Finland | 77.03% (2023) | 73.94% (2022) | +3.08 pp |
| 80 |  Malaysia | 69.76% (2023) | 65.50% (2022) | +4.26 pp |
| 81 |  Ukraine | 82.33% (2023) | 77.72% (2022) | +4.61 pp |
| 82 |  Nigeria | 46.41% (2023) | 39.70% (2022) | +6.71 pp |
| 83 |  China | 84.38% (2023) | 77.39% (2022) | +6.99 pp |
| 84 |  Egypt | 95.93% (2023) | 88.53% (2022) | +7.40 pp |
| 85 |  Norway | 44.00% (2023) | 36.27% (2022) | +7.73 pp |
| 86 |  Yemen | 81.21% (2023) | 65.84% (2022) | +15.37 pp |
Source: IMF DataMapper. Only countries with complete data (both points within the past 10 years) are shown.