OpenTube

Every Country, Ranked by their Debt

Everything Econ

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Macao sits at the bottom, at 0.0%. Japan sits at the top, at 204.4%. This is all 178 countries in between, counted from the bottom.

Government debt is measured here against the size of each economy, on the IMF's projections for 2026. The ratio says nothing about who holds the debt or what it costs to carry, which is why Japan, where 88% of government debt is held at home, and Singapore, whose borrowing is invested rather than spent, sit beside Sudan, where the debt follows a civil war.

⏱ CHAPTERS
0:00 The countries that owe almost nothing
0:23 Why the bottom of the list is Asian
1:05 Oil money, aid and default
2:41 Rebuilding and balancing the books
4:07 The middle country
5:26 Where debt starts to bite
6:49 Southern Europe
7:07 Inside the top twenty
9:02 Number one

📊 KEY DATA
• 0.0% → 204% — Macao to Japan
• 53.7% — the middle country of 178; 89 sit below it
• 13 of 20 — countries in the bottom 20 that are in Asia
• 6 of 20 — countries in the top 20 that are in Asia
• 41.8% vs 65.8% — the middle country in Asia against North America

📚 SOURCES
• IMF World Economic Outlook, Government Debt, 2026
• Macau Business / Macao government fiscal data, 2025
• IMF, Staff Concluding Statement of the 2025 Article IV Mission, May 2025
• IMF, 2024 Article IV Consultation with Haiti, December 2024
• Reuters/Yahoo Finance, citing Russian Finance Ministry data, October 2025
• IMF Country Report No. 25/195, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2025
• IMF, Staff Concluding Statement of the 2025 Article IV Mission for Türkiye, November 2025
• IMF, 2026 Article IV Consultation with Guatemala, July 2026 (referencing 2025 data)
• Kaieteur News/IDB reporting on Guyana's economy, November 2025
• The Diplomat, "Vietnam's 2026 Budget, Explained," December 2025
• IMF, Nigeria Article IV Consultation reporting, 2025
• IMF, Article IV Consultation Press Release No. 25/365, November 2025
• IMF Country Report (elibrary), 2025/2026 Article IV cycle
• Swiss Federal Finance Administration (EFV), Swiss public finances 2023–2024/2025 report
• IMF and Reuters/Ecofin Agency reporting, 2024–2026
• and 35 further sources, listed in the research notes

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17 Comments

@TimCook-w3z 5 days ago

Misleading as it makes Singapore look like it is in financial trouble. Some other countries also misrepresented here. There is a difference between DEBT and NET DEBT.

@northern-y3g 1 hour ago

Canad's federal debt is 60% of GDP. 111% is total debt including federal, provincial and personal.

@MartinLovasz-r7r 1 day ago (edited)

Debt is only part of it; next, we have how much interest they pay on that debt, followed by who owns that debt. Japan for instance has had record low interest on its debt since 1995 (around 0%) so they didn't pay much for all their debt, but now it's going up and why the USA is panicking as the days of free borrowing from the Japanese is over. Japan's debt is also domestically owned (88%) so it effects Japan itself if the state defaults or just write off the debt.

@ErikVANDEFONTEYNE-u5b 1 day ago

you forgot Monaco with 0% debt versus GDP

@jarirutanen8762 1 day ago

Debt is money and money is debt: gov bonds are private sector savings at the central bank mainly by banks and (pension)funds.

@VictorAndresGarciaGuardia-m3w 2 days ago

No debt figures available for CUBA, NORTH KOREA and VENEZUELA. Hmmmm.... why am I not surprised?

@sky2673-z6o 5 days ago

Nippon namba one!!!!

@fgon7379 4 minutes ago

That is nothing compared with Venezuela´s $ 240 billion debt, or 304 percent of its GDP, thanks to the corrupt dictatorial regime and lack of proper opposition!

@reginexile 1 day ago

These numbers should make it clear that governments are not the solution but the problem.

@micheljohn 6 days ago

India 🇮🇳?

@TOXIC_GOD_S5D 6 days ago

USA

@Vetamii 6 days ago

Did you know Russia could pay off the rest of their debt in less that a year if they wanted to

@Skinger_x14 6 days ago

1st

@MariusClausen-bf2kw 3 days ago

Norway ranked as number 120 with 43%? Norway doesnt have any debt. However it owns 1,5% of all public listed stocks in the world.

@DanMCcrumOfficial 2 days ago

Norway on rank 120? You have obviously no idea what you are talking about. Useless/misleading video!

@alihanaydogdu6158 6 days ago

Greece has gone bankrupt; it is now the poorest country in Europe and every year, hundreds of thousands of Greeks leave the country. Despite this, they are spending European funds on purchasing weapons and want to go to war with Turkiye.

In a failed state like Greece, unsuccessful administrations such as Mitsotakis's try to stay in power by stoking hostility toward Turks in their domestic politics. Keep it up, folks.