Japan tops the ranking with central government debt of 221 percent of GDP, followed by Greece, Sudan, Eritrea, and Singapore. Not long ago, the U.S. was among the least indebted countries.
To put that in context, the US owes as much money as the next four countries with the highest debt including China ($14 trillion), Japan ($10.2 trillion), France ($3.1 trillion) and Italy ($2.9 trillion). The chart below ranks government debt around the world.
According to data published by London-based investment fintech Invezz, Japan, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and the US are the top five nations with the highest level of government debt.
Over the past 20 years, Japan and China have owned more US Treasuries than any other foreign nation. Between 2000 and 2022, Japan grew from owning $534 billion to just over $1 trillion, while China's ownership grew from $101 billion to $855 billion.
Therefore, China's national debt has surged almost three times that of the United States in the past 12 months. In the third spot, Japan has a national debt of $13.36 trillion, indicating a drop of $1.49 trillion YoY.
China and Japan are the largest foreign investors in American government debt. Together they own $2 trillion — more than a quarter — of the $7.6 trillion in US Treasury securities held by foreign countries.
Australia Total Debt accounted for 264.0 % of the country's GDP in 2022, compared with the ratio of 270.3 % in the previous quarter.
Australia also partners with the World Bank Group on specific development programs which support Australia's development policy priorities. Over the last five years, Australia's annual average contributions to the WBG (core and non-core) has been around USD400 million.
How much does Russia owe? About $40 billion US in foreign bonds, about half of that to foreigners.
Flashpoints that greatly contributed to the debt over the past 50 years include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic -- the latter two prompting sweeping stimulus measures from Congress that cost trillions of dollars.
So if the U.S. cannot pay its creditors, interest rates on U.S. debt would go up, creating a cascade of higher interest rates. So mortgage rates, credit card rates, car loan rates. All would become more expensive. Finally, there is a real concern about the economy — that a default could spark a recession.
A flurry of big spending packages and ballooning social welfare costs for a rapidly ageing population have left Japan with a debt pile 263% the size of its economy - double the ratio for the United States and the highest among major economies.
Investors in Japan and China hold significant shares of U.S. public debt. Together, as of September 2022, they accounted for nearly $2 trillion, or about 8 percent of DHBP. While China's holdings of U.S. debt have declined over the past decade, Japan has slightly increased their purchases of U.S. Treasury securities.
Japan tops the ranking with central government debt of 221 percent of GDP, followed by Greece, Sudan, Eritrea, and Singapore. Not long ago, the U.S. was among the least indebted countries. In 2001, U.S. federal debt was 42 percent of GDP, lower than debt levels found in 100 other countries.
estimates China's total government debt is about $23 trillion, a figure that includes the hidden borrowing of thousands of financing companies set up by provinces and cities.
The Russian government owes about $40 billion in debt denominated in U.S. dollars and euros, and half of those bonds are owned by foreign investors. And Russian corporations have racked up approximately $100 billion in foreign currency debt, JPMorgan estimates.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said Moscow has written off the debts of African states worth more than $20 billion.
The annual cost of debt will rise from $17.7bn in 2022-23 to a peak of $27.1bn in 2025-26, before reducing back down to $26bn in 2026-27, according to new estimates in the budget.
In Australia, and in countries around the world, government economic support packages in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to large increases in government debt. This continues the trend of increasing debt since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).
The majority (two-thirds) of our government debt is held by non-resident investors. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the United States and the United Kingdom are the biggest investors followed by Belgium, Japan and Hong Kong (SAR of China).
Although Australia has avoided the worst effects of a recession for almost 30 years, 2023 may be the year of a recession - if one thing keeps rising. With GDP on an upward trajectory, a 0.6 per cent uptick to be precise, and unemployment at an all-time low at 3.5 per cent - we're in a good economic situation.
Australian Government debt was progressively reduced after the Second World War and largely eliminated by the beginning of the 1970s.
Individuals income tax. Individuals' income tax is the single most important source of government revenue. Since the mid 1970s it has consistently raised around half of the Australian Government's tax receipts and continues to be a stable and predictable source of revenue.