Data / Rankings / General government gross debt, national accounts / Countries

Countries by general government gross debt, national accounts

Japan had the highest general government gross debt, national accounts of 37 countries in 2015, at 228.8% of GDP. Estonia had the lowest, at 13.4% of GDP. The median was 78.5% of GDP. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Highest228.8Japan
Lowest13.4Estonia
Median78.537 countries

All countries, 2015

Japan: 228.8 % of GDPJapan228.8Greece: 185.3 % of GDPGreece185.3Italy: 155.9 % of GDPItaly155.9Portugal: 147.9 % of GDPPortugal147.9United States: 137.4 % of GDPUnited States137.4Belgium: 127.4 % of GDPBelgium127.4Iceland: 127 % of GDPIceland127France: 121.6 % of GDPFrance121.6Spain: 120 % of GDPSpain120Canada: 114.6 % of GDPCanada114.6United Kingdom: 108.8 % of GDPUnited Kingdom108.8Slovenia: 104.2 % of GDPSlovenia104.2Austria: 103.8 % of GDPAustria103.8Hungary: 98.8 % of GDPHungary98.8Ireland: 89.4 % of GDPIreland89.4Finland: 80.4 % of GDPFinland80.4Germany: 79.2 % of GDPGermany79.2Netherlands: 78.9 % of GDPNetherlands78.9Israel: 78.5 % of GDPIsrael78.5Poland: 70 % of GDPPoland70Slovakia: 66.4 % of GDPSlovakia66.4Australia: 63.8 % of GDPAustralia63.8Sweden: 63.7 % of GDPSweden63.7Colombia: 62.1 % of GDPColombia62.1Denmark: 58.1 % of GDPDenmark58.1Lithuania: 53.2 % of GDPLithuania53.2Mexico: 52.5 % of GDPMexico52.5Czechia: 52 % of GDPCzechia52South Korea: 50 % of GDPSouth Korea50Latvia: 47.8 % of GDPLatvia47.8New Zealand: 47.6 % of GDPNew Zealand47.6Switzerland: 43.8 % of GDPSwitzerland43.8Norway: 38.7 % of GDPNorway38.7Türkiye: 31 % of GDPTürkiye31Luxembourg: 29.1 % of GDPLuxembourg29.1Chile: 24.3 % of GDPChile24.3Estonia: 13.4 % of GDPEstonia13.4
% of GDP. Source: OECD, OECD National Accounts at a Glance: gross debt of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, LES13_FD4). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCountries2015
% of GDP		Change on 2014
1Japan228.8-1.5 pts
2Greece185.3+1 pts
3Italy155.9+1 pts
4Portugal147.9-1.9 pts
5United States137.4+1.6 pts
6Belgium127.4-3.3 pts
7Iceland127-18 pts
8France121.6+0.6 pts
9Spain120-3 pts
10Canada114.6+5.7 pts
11United Kingdom108.8-0.3 pts
12Slovenia104.2+3 pts
13Austria103.8-1.8 pts
14Hungary98.8-1.8 pts
15Ireland89.4-33.3 pts
16Finland80.4+4.1 pts
17Germany79.2-4.2 pts
18Netherlands78.9-4 pts
19Israel78.5+0.7 pts
20Poland70-1.6 pts
21Slovakia66.4-1.5 pts
22Australia63.8+3.5 pts
23Sweden63.7-1.8 pts
24Colombia62.1n/a
25Denmark58.1-5.7 pts
26Lithuania53.2+0.3 pts
27Mexico52.5+2.4 pts
28Czechia52-2.9 pts
29South Korea50+1.6 pts
30Latvia47.8-4.9 pts
31New Zealand47.6-1.4 pts
32Switzerland43.8+0.1 pts
33Norway38.7+5.2 pts
34Türkiye31-2.1 pts
35Luxembourg29.1+0.1 pts
36Chile24.3+1.9 pts
37Estonia13.4-1.3 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Gross debt of general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, under the System of National Accounts: all liabilities that are debt instruments, including loans, debt securities, currency and deposits, insurance and pension entitlements and other accounts payable.

Not the Maastricht debt in government_debt: this measure also counts pension entitlements and accounts payable, and some countries value securities at market prices, so it is usually higher. Use it to compare OECD countries with each other.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

OECD. OECD National Accounts at a Glance: gross debt of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, LES13_FD4). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2026). OECD National Accounts at a Glance: gross debt of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, LES13_FD4) (Countries by general government gross debt, national accounts, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD

MLA 9

OECD National Accounts at a Glance: gross debt of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, LES13_FD4), Countries by general government gross debt, national accounts, 2015. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 12 Oct. 2026, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/general-government-gross-debt/countries?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2026. OECD National Accounts at a Glance: gross debt of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, LES13_FD4). Countries by general government gross debt, national accounts, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/general-government-gross-debt/countries?period=2015.

Harvard

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2026) OECD National Accounts at a Glance: gross debt of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, LES13_FD4), Countries by general government gross debt, national accounts, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/general-government-gross-debt/countries?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{organisation_countries_by_general_government_2015,
  author = {{Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development}},
  title = {{OECD National Accounts at a Glance: gross debt of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD\_NAAG\_VI@DF\_NAAG\_VI, LES13\_FD4): Countries by general government gross debt, national accounts, 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/general-government-gross-debt/countries?period=2015. Publisher attribution: OECD. OECD National Accounts at a Glance: gross debt of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD\_NAAG\_VI@DF\_NAAG\_VI, LES13\_FD4). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ\&df[id]=DSD\_NAAG\_VI\%40DF\_NAAG\_VI\&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
TI  - OECD National Accounts at a Glance: gross debt of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, LES13_FD4): Countries by general government gross debt, national accounts, 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/12
PB  - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/general-government-gross-debt/countries?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/general-government-gross-debt/countries?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: OECD. OECD National Accounts at a Glance: gross debt of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, LES13_FD4). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html.
ER  -
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Questions

Which country has the highest general government gross debt, national accounts?

Japan, with 228.8% of GDP in 2015, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Which country has the lowest general government gross debt, national accounts?

Estonia, with 13.4% of GDP in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD National Accounts at a Glance: gross debt of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, LES13_FD4). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

General government gross debt, national accounts: other rankings

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