Countries by general government gross debt, national accounts
Japan had the highest general government gross debt, national accounts of 37 countries in 2017, at 225.5% of GDP. Estonia had the lowest, at 13.3% of GDP. The median was 69.8% of GDP. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
All countries, 2017
Full ranking
| Rank | Countries | 2017 | Change on 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 225.5 | -1.2 pts |
| 2 | Greece | 192.5 | +3.5 pts |
| 3 | Italy | 150.6 | -2.5 pts |
| 4 | Portugal | 142.8 | -0.8 pts |
| 5 | United States | 135.7 | -3.5 pts |
| 6 | France | 124.8 | -0.1 pts |
| 7 | Belgium | 123 | -6.1 pts |
| 8 | Spain | 118.3 | -1.6 pts |
| 9 | United Kingdom | 115.4 | -0.6 pts |
| 10 | Canada | 112.3 | -3.9 pts |
| 11 | Iceland | 103.5 | -11.3 pts |
| 12 | Austria | 97.5 | -6.1 pts |
| 13 | Hungary | 93.1 | -5.3 pts |
| 14 | Slovenia | 90.6 | -8.5 pts |
| 15 | Finland | 78.5 | -2.7 pts |
| 16 | Ireland | 76.7 | -10.6 pts |
| 17 | Israel | 73.9 | -3.2 pts |
| 18 | Germany | 71.9 | -4.6 pts |
| 19 | Netherlands | 69.8 | -6.6 pts |
| 20 | Colombia | 69.2 | +3.6 pts |
| 21 | Poland | 68.6 | -4.4 pts |
| 22 | Australia | 66 | -2.6 pts |
| 23 | Slovakia | 65.5 | -2.2 pts |
| 24 | Sweden | 61.6 | -1.5 pts |
| 25 | Denmark | 54.1 | -2.8 pts |
| 26 | Latvia | 49.1 | -2.5 pts |
| 27 | Mexico | 48.9 | -2 pts |
| 28 | Lithuania | 47.1 | -3.9 pts |
| 29 | South Korea | 46.9 | -2.1 pts |
| 30 | New Zealand | 44.2 | -2.4 pts |
| 31 | Czechia | 43.2 | -4.3 pts |
| 32 | Norway | 42.8 | +0.1 pts |
| 33 | Switzerland | 42.7 | -0 pts |
| 34 | Türkiye | 32.1 | +0.2 pts |
| 35 | Chile | 29.4 | +1 pts |
| 36 | Luxembourg | 28.8 | +1.7 pts |
| 37 | Estonia | 13.3 | -0.5 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.htmlCitation styles
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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.
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, 2017 [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=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{organisation_countries_by_general_government_2017,
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, 2017}},
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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/general-government-gross-debt/countries?period=2017.
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 -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Countries by general government gross debt, national accounts using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"general_government_debt_gdp","level":"country","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=general_government_debt_gdp&level=country&limit=10Questions
Which country has the highest general government gross debt, national accounts?
Japan, with 225.5% of GDP in 2017, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Which country has the lowest general government gross debt, national accounts?
Estonia, with 13.3% of GDP in 2017.
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.