Bank credit to private sector GDP share measures the amount of credit that deposit-taking institutions other than central banks provide to private-sector borrowers relative to GDP. In World Bank WDI series FD.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS, the 101 countries and areas with a 2025 observation have an unweighted median of 39.03% and a simple mean of 47.30%. Hong Kong SAR is the highest same-year observation at 222.65%, while Haiti is the lowest at 3.07%.
Table of Contents
What this indicator measures
The World Bank defines this series as financial resources provided to the private sector by other depository corporations, meaning deposit-taking institutions excluding central banks. Loans are the most familiar form, but nonequity securities, trade credit, and other accounts receivable that establish a claim for repayment can also be included. In some countries the claims can include credit to public enterprises.
A ratio of 50% does not mean banks issued new loans equal to half of GDP during the year. Credit is closer to a balance-sheet stock of outstanding claims, while GDP is a flow of value added produced over a year. That stock-versus-flow difference is why the ratio can exceed 100% in economies with large accumulated banking claims.
The 2025 median across 101 observations is 39.03%
Giving each 2025 observation equal weight, the median is 39.03% and the simple mean is 47.30%. The first quartile is 22.84% and the third quartile is 59.19%. The mean is above the median because the upper tail contains very large ratios in Hong Kong SAR, Australia, New Zealand, and several Asian economies. This is not a GDP-weighted world ratio.
| 2025 bank credit / GDP | Countries/areas | Share of 101 |
|---|---|---|
| Below 20% | 19 | 18.8% |
| 20% to <40% | 34 | 33.7% |
| 40% to <60% | 24 | 23.8% |
| 60% to <100% | 15 | 14.9% |
| 100% to <150% | 8 | 7.9% |
| 150% or more | 1 | 1.0% |
The largest band is 20% to below 40%, with 34 observations. Another 24 are between 40% and 60%, while 19 are below 20%. There are 9 observations at 100% or more, which is why 100% should not be treated as an automatic normal-versus-abnormal threshold.
The highest 2025 ratios are concentrated in parts of Asia and Oceania
Hong Kong SAR records 222.65% in 2025, followed by Australia at 133.79%, New Zealand at 129.68%, Qatar at 126.24%, and Cambodia at 121.43%. Malaysia, Macao SAR, Japan, and Thailand are also above 100%.
| Country or area | Bank credit to private sector / GDP |
|---|---|
| Hong Kong SAR, China | 222.65% |
| Australia | 133.79% |
| New Zealand | 129.68% |
| Qatar | 126.24% |
| Cambodia | 121.43% |
| Malaysia | 117.92% |
| Macao SAR, China | 117.04% |
| Japan | 115.86% |
| Thailand | 111.78% |
| Nepal | 90.40% |
The map shows high ratios in Australia and New Zealand and in several East and Southeast Asian economies. Yet nearby countries can differ sharply: Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia are all above 100%, while Indonesia is about 31.8% and the Philippines is around 52%. Geographic proximity does not imply the same depth of bank-centered financial intermediation.
A low ratio is not a complete measure of financial access
| Country or area | Bank credit to private sector / GDP |
|---|---|
| Haiti | 3.07% |
| South Sudan | 3.18% |
| Kuwait | 4.92% |
| Sierra Leone | 5.48% |
| Angola | 5.70% |
| Niger | 9.53% |
| Guinea-Bissau | 9.60% |
| Guinea | 9.91% |
| Pakistan | 10.68% |
| Guyana | 11.30% |
The low end of the 2025 set includes Haiti at 3.07%, South Sudan at 3.18%, Kuwait at 4.92%, Sierra Leone at 5.48%, and Angola at 5.70%. A low bank-credit ratio does not by itself prove that households and firms lack financing. Capital markets, nonbank lenders, cross-border finance, Islamic finance, and informal credit can change how much activity appears in this specific banking measure.
Korea’s latest observation is 160.35% in 2024
| Country | Latest year | Bank credit to private sector / GDP |
|---|---|---|
| Korea, Rep. | 2024 | 160.35% |
| China | 2024 | 194.31% |
| Japan | 2025 | 115.86% |
| United States | 2025 | 44.51% |
| Australia | 2025 | 133.79% |
| New Zealand | 2025 | 129.68% |
| India | 2025 | 44.03% |
| Indonesia | 2025 | 31.78% |
| Brazil | 2025 | 75.10% |
| Mexico | 2025 | 27.10% |
| South Africa | 2025 | 59.19% |
| Panama | 2025 | 66.84% |
| Saudi Arabia | 2025 | 64.31% |
| France | 2024 | 103.90% |
| United Kingdom | 2024 | 112.28% |
| Germany | 2023 | 76.38% |
| Singapore | 2020 | 128.43% |
| Canada | 2008 | 124.10% |
Korea’s retained latest value is 160.35% in 2024, and China is 194.31% in 2024. Japan is 115.86% in 2025 and the United States 44.51% in 2025, so those two can appear in the synchronized 2025 map. Canada’s latest retained observation is from 2008 and Singapore’s from 2020, which makes a mixed-year “latest” ranking unsuitable as a current same-date comparison.
Only 101 of the 186 latest observations are dated 2025
The country-level latest-value file contains 186 non-null observations spanning 2008–2025. The largest groups are 101 dated 2025, 48 dated 2024, and 11 dated 2023. The map, median, mean, band counts, and high/low rankings therefore use only the 101 observations whose year is exactly 2025. Older values are not backfilled into 2025.
How this differs from other private-credit indicators
The World Bank publishes several similarly named private-credit series. FD.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS, used here, explicitly narrows the provider side to other depository corporations, or deposit-taking institutions excluding central banks. FS.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS uses a broader financial-corporation scope that can include monetary authorities and other financial corporations such as finance companies, insurers, and pension funds where data are available. FM.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS is separately labeled Monetary sector credit to private sector.
Because the series codes and institutional coverage differ, they should not be merged into one ranking or time series merely because the titles look similar. Even for the same country and year, the FD and FM observations are not always identical. This article keeps only FD.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS so that the comparison answers a narrower question about bank-centered credit.
How to interpret high and low values
A high ratio means banks and similar deposit-taking institutions hold a large amount of private-sector claims relative to annual GDP. It can reflect deep financial intermediation and large mortgage or business-loan books, but it is not a safety score. Asset quality, nonperforming loans, borrower income, collateral, maturity, currency exposure, bank capital, and liquidity are separate questions.
A low ratio is equally incomplete. Firms may finance themselves through bonds or equity, households may use nonbank lenders, and cross-border funding can be important. The map is best used to identify where bank credit is large or small relative to GDP and then paired with lending rates, deposit depth, nonperforming loans, and broader financial-system indicators.
Source and calculation method
The statistical source is World Bank World Development Indicators series Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP), code FD.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS. World Bank metadata defines the numerator as financial resources provided by other depository corporations, excluding central banks, and lists IMF International Financial Statistics, World Bank WDI, and OECD national accounts among the source chain.
The analysis retains the 186 latest non-null country and area observations for freshness checks, but the main comparison uses only the 101 observations dated 2025. Missing values are not converted to zero and older observations are not relabeled as 2025. The 39.03% median, 47.30% simple mean, quartiles, and distribution bands are all calculated from the synchronized 2025 subset.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can bank credit to the private sector exceed 100% of GDP?
Yes. Credit is a stock-like balance-sheet measure while GDP is an annual flow, so accumulated bank claims can exceed one year of economic output.
What is Korea’s latest bank-credit-to-GDP ratio?
The Republic of Korea’s latest retained FD.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS observation is about 160.35% in 2024. It is not mixed into the 2025 same-year map.
Is this the same as the broader domestic-credit-to-private-sector ratio?
No. This series is specifically the bank/depository-corporation measure. Other World Bank private-credit series use different institutional coverage and should not be treated as interchangeable.
Does a higher ratio mean a safer financial system?
No. The ratio measures the size of bank credit relative to GDP, not loan quality, nonperforming loans, borrower solvency, bank capital, or liquidity.
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