United States. The United States boasts both the world's biggest national debt in terms of dollar amount and its largest economy, which resolves to a debt-to GDP ratio of approximately 128.13%.
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.
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.
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.
In December 2021, Australia recorded a national government net debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio of 36%. This GDP in Australia ratio refers to net government debt. It is calculated by subtracting the sum of interest-bearing liabilities from the total sum of financial assets, such as cash, deposits, and loans.
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.
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.
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.
The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the third quarter of 2022 were recorded in Greece (178.2%), Italy (147.3%), Portugal (120.1%), Spain (115.6%), France (113.4%) and Belgium (106.3%), and the lowest in Estonia (15.8%), Bulgaria (23.1%) and Luxembourg (24.6%).
Total public debt consists of borrowing on various levels: federal, state and municipality. While federal and municipal debt levels were up by the end of 2022, all but one of Germany's 16 states had lowered their debt obligations, by a total of 5% — €31.7 billion.
At the end of 2021, of the 98 countries for whom data was available, Pakistan ($27.4 billion of external debt to China), Angola (22.0 billion), Ethiopia (7.4 billion), Kenya (7.4 billion) and Sri Lanka (7.2 billion) held the biggest debts to China.
China's emergency lending has gone almost entirely to middle-income countries that owe a lot of money to state-controlled Chinese banks. More than 90 percent of China's emergency loans in 2021 were in its own currency, the renminbi.
An Associated Press analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China — including Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia, Laos and Mongolia — found paying back that debt is consuming an ever-greater amount of the tax revenue needed to keep schools open, provide electricity and pay for food and fuel.
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.
India takes the top spot. Its $39.7bn debt towards the WB recorded at the end of 2021 is double that of the next biggest debtor, Indonesia, with $19.6bn. Pakistan and Bangladesh follow with $18.3bn and $17.8bn, respectively, according to WB figures.
The IMF provides financial assistance and works with governments to ensure responsible spending. The IMF offers various types of loans that are tailored to countries' different needs and specific circumstances. Loans to low-income countries carry a zero interest rate.
At the start of 2007, prior to the Global Financial Crisis, Australian Government gross debt was under $52 billion. Between 2007 and March 2020 total Australian Government Securities (AGS) on issue increased to $580 billion, and is $897 billion as of 5 May 2023.
Average household debt grew by 7.3 per cent to $261,492 in 2021-22, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Australian Government debt was progressively reduced after the Second World War and largely eliminated by the beginning of the 1970s.