Countries by National Debt to GDP Ratio 2025

About This Dataset

Countries ranked by gross government debt as a percentage of GDP in 2025, according to IMF World Economic Outlook Fiscal Monitor database. Japan carries the highest national debt to GDP ratio of any major economy — exceeding 250% of GDP in 2025, a level that has prompted decades of predictions of fiscal crisis that have not materialised due to the unique structure of Japanese government debt, which is almost entirely held domestically by Japanese banks, insurance companies, and the Bank of Japan itself. This domestic ownership insulates Japan from the currency and refinancing crises that have afflicted other highly indebted nations, though it concentrates sovereign risk within the domestic financial system and constrains the Bank of Japan's ability to normalise interest rates without dramatically increasing debt servicing costs.

Analysis

The top three in Government Debt (% of GDP) in 2025 are Japan (252), Greece (168) and Italy (145). The 8 entries cover a range of 160, from 252 down to 92. Most of that gap is between first and second alone (84 of 160); the other 7 are separated by just 76. The other 6 are bunched between 92 and 145.

Source: Wikipedia

Key Findings

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Japan leads in Government Debt (% of GDP) with 252 in 2025.

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Average Government Debt (% of GDP) in 2025: 138 · median: 118.

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Gap in 2025: Japan is 2.7× larger than Brazil.

Countries by National Debt to GDP Ratio 2025

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Data Insights Below

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

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Data Points

8 categories · 1 year

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Top Value

252

Japan

Government Debt (% of GDP) · 2025

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Metrics

Government Debt (% of GDP)

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Period

2025

Single year snapshot

Methodology & source

Data source: Wikipedia
Coverage: 8 entities · 2025 · 8 observations
Measure: Government Debt (% of GDP)
Last updated: 6 September 2026
Compiled by: The ANYSTAT team, from the source above

How the figures are calculated

Values are shown as reported by the source. Nothing is rescaled, rebased or converted — the only changes are thousand separators and decimals shown to two places.
Entities are ranked highest-first on their value in 2025.