Government debt ratios are familiar, but they do not answer every question about the relationship between governments and financial institutions. World Bank World Development Indicators series FS.AST.CGOV.GD.ZS measures claims on central government, net of government deposits, as a share of GDP. The latest-value dataset contains 186 countries and areas, but their reference years range from 2008 to 2025.
In practical terms, the indicator compares the financial sector’s net position vis-à-vis central government with annual economic output. A value of 20% means the measured net claims are about one-fifth of GDP. A value of -10% means government deposits exceed the measured claims on central government. It does not mean that government debt is negative.
Table of Contents
What claims on central government actually measures
World Bank metadata defines claims on central government as including loans to central-government institutions net of deposits. The indicator expresses that net position as a percentage of GDP. Its source chain includes the IMF International Financial Statistics database, World Development Indicators, and OECD national accounts files.
The word net is essential. Claims can rise when financial institutions hold more exposure to central government, while deposits held by government at financial institutions work in the opposite direction. The measure is therefore different from gross government debt, the stock of government bonds outstanding, the fiscal deficit, and central-bank assets. Those series can be related, but their numerators and accounting boundaries are not the same.
Why the ratio can be negative
Among the 97 observations dated 2025, 15 are below zero. A negative value is not something that should automatically be removed as a data error. Because deposits are subtracted from claims, a government-deposit position larger than the measured claims can push the net ratio below zero.
The 2025 data include Macao SAR at -79.5%, Timor-Leste at -49.6%, Tonga at -20.9%, Samoa at -19.4%, Grenada at -19.2%, and Hong Kong SAR at -18.4%. These numbers should not be relabeled as negative public debt or interpreted as a complete government net-asset position. They describe a much narrower balance-sheet relationship within the financial statistics used by this indicator.
Only 97 of the 186 latest values are from 2025
The latest non-null observation for each country or area produces a mixed-year file: 97 observations are from 2025, 50 from 2024, 10 from 2023, and the remaining 29 span 2008–2022. The map is therefore useful for locating the latest available high and low values, but it is not a synchronized 2025 ranking of all 186 places.
The timing differences are large enough to matter. Canada’s latest value in this file is from 2008, the Russian Federation is dated 2021, Germany 2023, while the United States and Japan are dated 2025. For that reason, the mean, median, distribution, and high/low rankings below use only the 97 observations that share the 2025 reference year.
The 2025 median is 10.99% of GDP
Across the 97 same-year observations, the unweighted median is 10.99% and the simple mean is 13.52%. The first quartile is about 5.17% and the third quartile about 22.21%. The mean sits above the median because the upper tail includes a very large Japanese observation of 117.4%. These are equal-weight country summaries, not a GDP-weighted world ratio.
The class counts are 15 below 0%, 9 from 0% to under 5%, 35 from 5% to under 15%, 23 from 15% to under 30%, 14 from 30% to under 60%, and one at 60% or above. The range extends from deeply negative values to more than 100%, which is why a single global average would hide much of the structure visible on the map.
Japan is a clear upper-tail outlier in 2025
| Country or area | Net claims / GDP |
|---|---|
| Japan | 117.4% |
| Maldives | 57.4% |
| South Sudan | 57.3% |
| Brazil | 55.5% |
| United States | 54.2% |
| Egypt, Arab Rep. | 48.2% |
| El Salvador | 47.6% |
| Thailand | 46.6% |
| Fiji | 43.4% |
| Algeria | 42.4% |
Japan is the highest 2025 observation at 117.4%, more than twice the second-highest value. The Maldives and South Sudan are both near 57%, Brazil is 55.5%, and the United States is 54.2%. This ranking is about the ratio of central-government net claims to GDP, not the amount of government debt in dollars and not the size of the banking system.
A high value can flag a large measured financial-sector exposure to central government relative to economic output, but the indicator does not identify the underlying instruments, maturity structure, currency composition, or institutions responsible for the position. Those details require country-level monetary and fiscal statistics.
Negative values do not mean “no government debt”
| Country or area | Net claims / GDP |
|---|---|
| Macao SAR, China | -79.5% |
| Timor-Leste | -49.6% |
| Tonga | -20.9% |
| Samoa | -19.4% |
| Grenada | -19.2% |
| Hong Kong SAR, China | -18.4% |
| Kuwait | -16.9% |
| Cambodia | -12.9% |
| Uzbekistan | -12.1% |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | -11.6% |
Macao SAR and Timor-Leste stand out at the bottom of the 2025 distribution, followed by several Pacific and Caribbean economies and Hong Kong SAR. Their negative values mean that the deposit subtraction is large enough to put the net claims measure below zero. They should not be treated as a fiscal-soundness ranking.
Positive values also need discipline in interpretation. A ratio of 50% does not mean a government borrowed 50% of GDP during 2025. The numerator is a balance-sheet stock-like net position, while GDP is an annual flow. The ratio scales the financial position to the size of the economy; it does not measure annual borrowing.
Neighboring countries can look very different in the same year
Southeast Asia provides a strong same-year contrast: Thailand is 46.6% in 2025, Cambodia -12.9%, Malaysia 17.6%, Indonesia 12.3%, and the Philippines 32.6%. In South America, Brazil is 55.5%, Argentina 23.0%, Uruguay 6.5%, and Paraguay -4.1%. Geographic proximity does not produce a single common pattern.
Africa also contains widely separated values within the 2025 subset: South Sudan is 57.3%, Egypt 48.2%, Algeria 42.4%, Uganda 9.0%, and South Africa 6.3%. The map is useful for identifying these discontinuities, but the dataset alone does not establish why they exist. Differences in government deposits, financial-system balance sheets, institutional coverage, and fiscal or monetary arrangements need separate evidence.
Selected major economies: the year matters
| Country | Latest year | Share of GDP |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2025 | 54.19% |
| Japan | 2025 | 117.42% |
| Brazil | 2025 | 55.47% |
| India | 2025 | 20.02% |
| Australia | 2025 | 7.99% |
| Mexico | 2025 | 28.56% |
| South Africa | 2025 | 6.30% |
| China | 2024 | 45.99% |
| Korea, Rep. | 2024 | 3.37% |
| United Kingdom | 2024 | 21.86% |
| France | 2024 | 29.02% |
| Italy | 2024 | 50.85% |
| Germany | 2023 | 11.83% |
| Canada | 2008 | 15.41% |
The United States, Japan, Brazil, India, Australia, Mexico, and South Africa are all dated 2025 in this file and can be compared on a common reference year. China, Korea, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy are dated 2024, Germany is 2023, and Canada is 2008. Canada is an especially clear example of why a “latest available” table should not automatically be read as a current cross-country ranking.
This is not the government-debt ratio or the central-bank-assets ratio
A government-debt ratio measures the stock of government contractual liabilities under a different statistical definition. FS.AST.CGOV.GD.ZS instead looks at claims on central government net of deposits within financial-sector statistics. The two can move together in some circumstances, but there is no reason they must match.
It also differs from World Bank Global Financial Development indicator GFDD.DI.06, central bank assets to GDP. That series measures central-bank claims on the domestic real nonfinancial sector as a share of GDP. The current indicator focuses on central government and nets government deposits. Checking the exact numerator prevents superficially similar financial indicators from being treated as duplicates.
A practical way to use the map
Start with the latest-value map to locate negative values, observations above 30%, and countries that contrast sharply with their neighbors. Then check the observation-year map. If a same-year comparison is necessary, restrict the analysis to a synchronized subset such as the 97 observations dated 2025. After that, pair the ratio with government debt, fiscal balance, government-deposit, bank-asset, and monetary statistics for the country of interest.
The indicator should not be used by itself to predict default, judge bank safety, or forecast interest rates. A high net-claims ratio may indicate substantial financial-system exposure to central government, but risk depends on the instruments, maturity and currency profile, the institutions holding them, the government’s fiscal capacity, and the size of deposits and other assets.
Source, coverage, and calculation method
The statistical source is World Bank World Development Indicators series FS.AST.CGOV.GD.ZS, Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP). World Bank metadata says claims on central government include loans to central-government institutions net of deposits. The listed source institutions include the IMF International Financial Statistics database, World Bank WDI, and OECD national accounts files.
The latest-value table retains 186 non-null country or area observations spanning 2008–2025. Missing values were not converted to zero, and negative observations were preserved because they are meaningful under the net definition. Same-year 2025 statistics and rankings were recalculated from the 97 observations dated 2025. The maps join ISO3 country codes to a simplified world boundary layer, so a few small islands and separately reported areas may not appear as independent polygons even when they are included in the statistical calculations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can claims on central government be negative?
Yes. The indicator nets government deposits against claims on central-government institutions. If deposits are larger than the measured claims, the net value can fall below zero. This does not mean government debt is negative.
Is this the government-debt-to-GDP ratio?
No. It measures financial-sector claims on central government net of deposits relative to GDP, not the government’s complete stock of contractual liabilities.
Are all values on the map from 2025?
No. The 186 latest observations span 2008–2025. There are 97 observations dated 2025, and those 97 are used for the same-year mean, median, distribution, and rankings.
Does a higher ratio automatically mean higher fiscal risk?
No. It indicates a larger measured net claims position relative to GDP. Fiscal and financial risk also depends on debt structure, maturity, currency, government deposits, institutional holders, and other balance-sheet and budget information.
Related Articles
This indicator describes the financial sector’s net position vis-à-vis central government. The following published Green Map articles answer different but complementary questions about bank income structure, external-debt burden, and economic scale.
- Bank Noninterest Income Share by Country – Global Map
- External Debt Present Value vs Exports by Country – 2024 Map
- Global GDP per Capita Map 2025 – Country Comparison
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