How large is central government debt relative to the size of each economy? This article uses World Bank World Development Indicators series GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS, Central government debt, total (% of GDP). The measure is a stock of direct fixed-term obligations of the central government at a point in time, divided by annual GDP and expressed as a percentage.
The 109 observations in this comparison are not synchronized to one year. Only 33 are dated 2024; the remaining 76 are older latest-available values. Reference years span 1990–2024. The world map is therefore best used to locate each country’s latest retained observation, while a fair same-year ranking should use only the 33 rows dated 2024.
Table of Contents
What the central government debt ratio measures
World Bank metadata defines debt as the stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations outstanding on a particular date. It can include domestic and foreign liabilities such as deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. Central government is narrower than the whole general-government sector: it covers national executive, legislative and judicial departments, other central agencies, and controlled non-market producers whose authority normally extends across the economic territory.
That scope matters. The ratio is not a measure of all public-sector liabilities, and it certainly does not include household and corporate debt. Local governments or social-security funds may sit outside the central-government boundary used here. A country’s widely quoted general-government debt ratio can therefore differ from this World Bank series even when both numbers are correct within their own definitions.
The latest-value map mixes reference years from 1990 to 2024
The collection retains the most recent non-null observation found for each country. There are 33 observations from 2024, 9 from 2023, 2 from 2022, 4 from 2021 and 7 from 2020. Another 21 come from 2010–2019, 11 from 2000–2009, and 22 from the 1990s.
This is more than a technical detail. Government debt can move substantially after fiscal deficits, recessions, exchange-rate shifts, bond issuance, debt repayment or large emergency spending. Germany, for example, appears in this file with a 1990 latest observation of 20.9%. It should not be placed beside the United States or United Kingdom in a claim about current debt levels. Older rows are useful as last-known observations, not as a synchronized present-day ranking.
The median across all 109 latest values is 51.2%
Across the 109 latest available rows, the simple median is 51.2% and the simple mean is 62.7%. The 25th percentile is 30.9% and the 75th percentile is 71.8%. These are descriptive statistics for a mixed-year dataset, not a world average for 2024.
The mixed-year distribution also contains large historical outliers. Sudan’s retained observation is 865.9% in 1999, Seychelles is 174.7% in 2008, and Côte d’Ivoire is 171.1% in 1995. Those values describe the reference years attached to them; they are not evidence that those countries currently have the same ratios. The map uses broad color bands so a handful of very large observations do not flatten the visual differences among the more common ranges.
Among the 33 observations dated 2024, the median is 54.4%
Restricting the calculation to the 33 rows dated 2024 produces a median of 54.4% and a simple mean of 62.7%. The middle half runs from 40.1% to 71.8%, and 5 of the 33 observations are at or above 100% of GDP.
| 2024 country/area | Central government debt / GDP |
|---|---|
| Singapore | 167.8% |
| United Kingdom | 130.7% |
| United States | 115.8% |
| El Salvador | 107.3% |
| Spain | 105.6% |
| South Africa | 82.8% |
| Hungary | 82.0% |
| Brazil | 81.9% |
| Mozambique | 71.8% |
| Bahamas, The | 71.5% |
Singapore is highest within this 2024 subset at 167.8%, followed by the United Kingdom at 130.7%, the United States at 115.8%, El Salvador at 107.3% and Spain at 105.6%. South Africa, Hungary and Brazil are in the low-80% range. A high ratio does not by itself prove fiscal distress. Interest costs, maturity, currency composition, the domestic investor base, revenue capacity, economic growth and institutional credibility all affect how a debt stock is financed and serviced.
South Korea is 47.8% in the 2024 subset
South Korea records 47.8% in 2024 in this dataset. Canada is 64.1%, Brazil 81.9%, the United States 115.8% and the United Kingdom 130.7%. Switzerland is lower at 22.3% and Türkiye at 26.6%. These are comparisons within the same central-government indicator; they should not be mixed without adjustment with national figures that use a broader general-government or public-sector boundary.
China, Japan and France do not have a row in this 109-observation file, so no value is invented for them. Their absence from this map does not mean zero debt. It means this latest-value collection did not contain a comparable observation for those countries under the indicator and filtering rule used here.
Low ratios are not a complete fiscal-health ranking
| 2024 country/area | Central government debt / GDP |
|---|---|
| Somalia, Fed. Rep. | 12.7% |
| Russian Federation | 17.9% |
| Switzerland | 22.3% |
| Solomon Islands | 26.0% |
| Turkiye | 26.6% |
| Kyrgyz Republic | 38.7% |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 39.7% |
| Andorra | 40.0% |
| Georgia | 40.1% |
| Mongolia | 43.3% |
The lower end of the 2024 subset includes Somalia at 12.7%, Russia at 17.9%, Switzerland at 22.3%, Solomon Islands at 26.0% and Türkiye at 26.6%. A low ratio can be informative, but it is not a one-number measure of fiscal health. Revenue, interest costs, foreign-currency exposure, refinancing needs, growth, government assets and contingent liabilities can materially change the risk attached to the same debt-to-GDP ratio.
Central government debt is not the same as general government debt
Government coverage is one of the most common sources of confusion in cross-country debt comparisons. Central government focuses on the national level. General government can include central, state or provincial, local and social-security units depending on the statistical system. That is why IMF, OECD or national government publications can show a different debt ratio for the same country without either series necessarily being wrong.
GDP and debt also measure different types of quantities. GDP is a flow of production over a year, while debt is a stock measured at a date, usually near the end of the fiscal year. A ratio above 100% therefore does not mean the debt must be repaid from one year of GDP. Debt service is spread across maturities and depends on revenue, interest rates, refinancing conditions and the structure of the liabilities.
Data source and mapping method
The statistical source is World Bank World Development Indicators series GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS – Central government debt, total (% of GDP). The World Bank metadata glossary identifies the underlying source as the IMF Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and related data files. The unit is percent of GDP.
The comparison keeps 109 latest non-null country or area observations. Missing values are not converted to zero. All 2024 statistics and rankings in this article are recalculated only from the 33 rows whose reference year is exactly 2024. The map uses location markers colored by debt-to-GDP band, which keeps small countries visible and avoids implying that a gray background area has a value of zero.
A practical way to read the map
Start with the color bands to identify unusually high and low locations, then check the reference year before making a comparison. A 2024 observation can be compared with the synchronized 2024 median of 54.4%. A value from the 1990s or 2000s is better treated as a data-availability signal than as a current fiscal ranking. For a fuller assessment, pair the ratio with general-government debt, the fiscal balance, interest costs, growth, inflation, rates and the currency and maturity structure of government liabilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a central government debt ratio above 100% of GDP mean?
It means the measured central government debt stock is larger than that year’s GDP. It does not mean the entire debt must be repaid from one year of output; liabilities have different maturities and financing conditions.
Are all values on the map from 2024?
No. Only 33 of the 109 latest observations are dated 2024. The other 76 are each country’s latest non-null value from 1990–2023, so the 2024 subset should be used for a synchronized comparison.
Is central government debt the same as general government debt?
Not necessarily. General government can include regional, local and social-security units that are outside the central-government boundary, so published debt ratios can differ depending on institutional coverage.
Do countries without a value on this map have zero government debt?
No. Missing locations were not converted to zero. They simply do not have a comparable observation in this 109-row latest-value file.
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