Source: Australian Government, Budget Strategy and Outlook: Budget Paper No. 1: 2022–23, p. 348. This graph shows that Australian Government debt fluctuated around 20% of GDP from the early 1970s to the mid-1990s with one period of substantial falls in the late 1980s.
Australian Government debt was progressively reduced after the Second World War and largely eliminated by the beginning of the 1970s.
In the Budget, the difference between receipts and payments is referred to as the cash balance, which has been in deficit (payments have exceeded receipts) since 2007–08.
The composition of foreign debt by country shows that the most important creditor countries for Australia in terms of total debt are Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, representing 18, 16 and 9 per cent respectively of gross foreign debt in 1995-96.
In the decade following the Second World War, relatively tight fiscal policy halted the growth in gross debt, while high inflation underpinned the sharp reduction in gross debt as a share of GDP. By 1974, gross debt had declined to around 8 per cent of GDP from a peak of around 120 per cent of GDP in 1946.
The United States has the world's highest national debt at $31.4 trillion. Global debt currently stands at $305 trillion, $45 trillion higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF) – a global association of the financial industry.
Australia's addiction to high and rising government spending, budget deficits and debt will continue to place upward pressure upon consumer price inflation and rates of interest; it'll also stifle economic growth. That, in turn, augurs poorly for living standards – and most assets' returns.
The Budget projects that the Commonwealth government's gross debt will be around $963 billion at 30 June 2022. This is around 45.1% of GDP. It is projected to increase to $1,199 billion—around 50% of GDP—by 30 June 2025 (Budget Strategy and Outlook: Budget Paper No.
China's $23 trillion local debt mess is about to get worse.
An S&P analysis shows Victoria not only has the highest debt burden of any state in the country, it also carries more debt than 10 sub-sovereign states analysed in Canada and Germany – two countries that experts nominate as most similar to Australia.
So how big is the national debt? At the end of June, the total size of Australia's national debt was $895 billion. That's about $100 billion short a trillion dollars. But many economists argue the total, or gross debt figure is not the best debt figure to look at.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the country is on track for the first surplus since the global financial crisis in 2008.
Can I Leave the Country If I Have Debt? Legally, there is nothing stopping you from leaving the country if you have debt, unless the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) issues a Departure Prohibition Order (DPO) against you.
As of 2022, Australians remain in the unenviable position of having the highest percentage of net household debt compared to other countries with similar economies. According to available data from the OECD, the average Australian household debt-to-income ratio comes in at $187 for every $100 of after-tax income.
The coefficients on income per capita, the real interest rate, inflation and financial liberalisation are all significant and of the expected sign: higher real incomes and lower real interest rates or inflation are all associated with increased indebtedness of households, as is the deregulation of the financial sector ...
The IMF data shows that Australia has the lowest level of gross debt, after Chile, when compared with other member states in the Organisation of Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD). In terms of net debt, only Chile, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden have lower levels.
A major lender abroad, China is facing a debt bomb at home: trillions of dollars owed by local governments, their financial affiliates, and real estate developers.
The 2023–24 Budget forecasts further increases in gross debt to $1.067 trillion (36.5% of GDP) by the end of the 2026–27 financial year, albeit at a slower pace than had been forecast in the October 2022–23 Budget (Budget strategy and outlook: budget paper no. 1: 2023–24, p. 421).
Around two-thirds of Australian government debt is held by non-resident investors – a share that has risen since 2009 and remains historically high.
Tasmania will reach 25% while WA will have the lowest at 15% of GSP. borrowing level with $123B in FY2022 (i.e. 2021-22), followed by New South Wales with $106B.
Key information about New Zealand National Government Debt
New Zealand National Government Debt reached 89.9 USD bn in Mar 2023, compared with 84.4 USD bn in the previous quarter.
In terms of raw dollars, the country with the highest debt in the world is unquestionably the United States, whose national debt is more than twice that of any other country.
Top 10 territories that own the most U.S. debt
Japan owns the most at $1.1 trillion, followed by China, with $859 billion, and the United Kingdom at $668 billion.