Central government debt, total (current LCU) - Country Ranking

Definition: Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a flow, it is measured as of a given date, usually the last day of the fiscal year.

Source: International Monetary Fund, Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Indonesia 3,889,950,000,000,000.00 2016
2 Japan 1,052,770,000,000,000.00 2016
3 Korea 662,637,000,000,000.00 2016
4 Colombia 495,860,000,000,000.00 2016
5 Iraq 58,045,500,000,000.00 2016
6 India 56,517,900,000,000.00 2013
7 Hungary 34,527,400,000,000.00 2016
8 Lebanon 33,733,600,000,000.00 1999
9 United States 18,523,300,000,000.00 2016
10 Russia 12,193,200,000,000.00 2016
11 Côte d'Ivoire 9,392,700,000,000.00 1995
12 Sri Lanka 8,503,200,000,000.00 2015
13 Kazakhstan 7,876,720,000,000.00 2016
14 Philippines 5,735,240,000,000.00 2014
15 Thailand 4,847,860,000,000.00 2015
16 Brazil 4,602,870,000,000.00 2016
17 Mongolia 3,921,900,000,000.00 2009
18 Pakistan 2,832,570,000,000.00 2000
19 United Kingdom 2,294,250,000,000.00 2016
20 Malawi 2,239,860,000,000.00 2017
21 Jamaica 2,159,940,000,000.00 2016
22 Costa Rica 2,066,700,000,000.00 2001
23 Iceland 1,831,530,000,000.00 2016
24 Ukraine 1,712,920,000,000.00 2016
25 Congo 1,657,840,000,000.00 2010
26 Mexico 1,276,450,000,000.00 2000
27 Albania 1,188,810,000,000.00 2016
28 Spain 1,164,770,000,000.00 2016
29 Bangladesh 1,086,910,000,000.00 2003
30 Turkey 831,394,000,000.00 2016
31 Uruguay 805,483,000,000.00 2016
32 Denmark 747,563,000,000.00 1994
33 Burundi 740,305,000,000.00 1999
34 Italy 650,914,000,000.00 1992
35 Malaysia 648,475,000,000.00 2016
36 Egypt 638,953,000,000.00 2007
37 South Africa 616,394,000,000.00 2008
38 Singapore 480,707,000,000.00 2016
39 Morocco 456,190,000,000.00 2011
40 Israel 443,534,000,000.00 1999
41 Nepal 403,903,000,000.00 2010
42 Germany 394,942,000,000.00 1999
43 Kyrgyz Republic 288,054,000,000.00 2016
44 Norway 275,920,000,000.00 1994
45 Ireland 230,468,000,000.00 2016
46 Czech Republic 194,159,000,000.00 1994
47 Netherlands 170,009,000,000.00 1994
48 Bhutan 160,562,000,000.00 2016
49 Poland 152,238,000,000.00 1994
50 Peru 150,150,000,000.00 2016
51 Rwanda 131,613,000,000.00 1992
52 Switzerland 130,547,000,000.00 2016
53 Mauritius 128,016,000,000.00 2012
54 Guatemala 115,405,000,000.00 2016
55 New Zealand 114,479,000,000.00 2016
56 Ethiopia 93,049,100,000.00 2013
57 Zambia 90,603,650,000.00 2015
58 Dominican Republic 57,544,200,000.00 1999
59 Finland 52,858,940,000.00 1994
60 Moldova 51,276,800,000.00 2016
61 Belarus 37,941,760,000.00 2016
62 Bolivia 36,760,230,000.00 2001
63 Namibia 32,020,740,000.00 2014
64 Tunisia 31,420,100,000.00 2012
65 United Arab Emirates 27,127,930,000.00 2013
66 Botswana 25,986,220,000.00 2016
67 Trinidad and Tobago 21,813,800,000.00 2007
68 Jordan 20,979,900,000.00 2016
69 Papua New Guinea 17,966,880,000.00 2015
70 Bosnia and Herzegovina 15,809,920,000.00 2016
71 Georgia 15,102,700,000.00 2016
72 Barbados 13,365,030,000.00 2015
73 El Salvador 12,595,430,000.00 2016
74 Dem. Rep. Congo 12,174,960,000.00 1997
75 Seychelles 11,616,520,000.00 2015
76 Vanuatu 9,445,000,000.00 1999
77 The Bahamas 6,138,814,000.00 2016
78 Cyprus 5,717,895,000.00 1994
79 Portugal 4,669,746,000.00 1994
80 St. Lucia 2,728,520,000.00 2014
81 Azerbaijan 2,711,635,000.00 2010
82 Belize 2,609,974,000.00 2014
83 Malta 1,842,609,000.00 1994
84 St. Kitts and Nevis 1,482,430,000.00 2014
85 Bahrain 1,453,600,000.00 2004
86 Slovenia 1,431,314,000.00 1994
87 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 1,350,810,000.00 2014
88 Fiji 979,110,000.00 1994
89 Australia 907,555,000.00 2016
90 San Marino 760,475,500.00 2016
91 Solomon Islands 686,326,300.00 2016
92 Liberia 567,200,000.00 2012
93 Tonga 460,835,600.00 2016
94 Luxembourg 396,257,800.00 1993
95 Latvia 325,225,800.00 1994
96 Palau 202,718,300.00 2016

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Limitations and Exceptions: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Despite IMF efforts to standardize data collection, statistics are often incomplete, untimely, and not comparable across countries.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: The IMF's Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014, harmonized with the 2008 SNA, recommends an accrual accounting method, focusing on all economic events affecting assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses, not just those represented by cash transactions. It accounts for all changes in stocks, so stock data at the end of an accounting period equal stock data at the beginning of the period plus flows over the period. The 1986 manual considered only debt stocks. Government finance statistics are reported in local currency. Many countries report government finance data by fiscal year; see country metadata for information on fiscal year end by country.

Periodicity: Annual