South Asia - Central government debt, total (% of GDP)

Central government debt, total (% of GDP) in South Asia was 51.09 as of 2013. Its highest value over the past 23 years was 63.93 in 2004, while its lowest value was 47.59 in 1996.

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, and World Bank and OECD GDP estimates.

See also:

Year Value
1990 55.11
1991 54.36
1992 53.79
1993 56.08
1994 51.37
1995 49.36
1996 47.59
1997 51.71
1998 54.64
1999 53.02
2000 57.61
2001 58.24
2002 61.48
2003 61.00
2004 63.93
2005 63.10
2006 60.56
2007 58.28
2008 57.10
2009 56.36
2010 52.12
2011 52.28
2012 51.35
2013 51.09

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.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Public Sector Indicators

Sub-Topic: Government finance