12 Countries With the Highest Debt to GDP Ratio (2024)

FAQs

What country has the highest debt to GDP ratio? ›

United States Government Debt: % of GDP

United States Government debt accounted for 124.7 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Mar 2024, compared with the ratio of 124.3 % in the previous quarter. US government debt to GDP ratio data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1969 to Mar 2024.

United States. The United States boasts both the world's biggest national debt in terms of dollar amount and its largest economy, which resolves to a debt-to GDP ratio of approximately 121.31%. The United States' government's spending exceeds its income most years, and the US has not had a budget surplus since 2001.

Canada has the highest level of household debt to disposable income of any G7 country, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday. The agency wrote that its 2021 census survey revealed debt-to-income ratio reached more than 180 per cent, beating the United States and Germany by a large margin.

One of the main culprits is consistently overspending. When the federal government spends more than its budget, it creates a deficit. In the fiscal year of 2023, it spent about $381 billion more than it collected in revenues. To pay that deficit, the government borrows money.

As of April 2024, the five countries owning the most US debt are Japan ($1.1 trillion), China ($749.0 billion), the United Kingdom ($690.2 billion), Luxembourg ($373.5 billion), and Canada ($328.7 billion).

Among advanced economies, debt as a percentage of GDP increased from around 75 percent to more than 80 percent. As of 2023, the United States' debt-to-GDP ratio is among the highest in the developed world, behind only Japan and Italy.

Approximately three-quarters of Black- and White-headed families have debt, but the median debt-to-asset ratio is 50% higher among Black than White families (Copeland, 2020), with Black borrowers less likely to fully repay loans (Brevoort et al., 2021).

Debt as a share of GDP has risen to about the same level as in the United States, while in dollar terms China's total debt ($47.5 trillion) is still markedly below that of the United States (close to $70 trillion). As for non-financial corporate debt, China's 28 percent share is the largest in the world.

Who is richer, Canada or the USA? ›

Canada's 2022 gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to $2.14 trillion, while the United States reported a GDP of $25.44 trillion. While the U.S. is a much larger economic powerhouse, citizens' incomes are relatively aligned. The U.S. Census Bureau states the median income for U.S. families is $74,580.

The debt-to-GDP ratio is a metric that helps understand a country's ability to pay back its debts. A lower debt-to-GDP ratio is generally ideal because it signals a country is producing more than it owes, placing it on a strong financial footing. Congressional Budget Office.

China is one of the United States's largest creditors, owning about $859.4 billion in U.S. debt. It doesn't own the most U.S. debt of any foreign country, however. Nations borrowing from each other may be as old as the concept of money.

The $35 trillion gross federal debt includes debt held by the public as well as debt held by federal trust funds and other government accounts. In very basic terms, this can be thought of as debt that the government owes to others plus debt that it owes to itself.