EU countries by general government gross debt, national accounts

Greece had the highest general government gross debt, national accounts of 22 EU countries in 2015, at 185.3% of GDP. Estonia had the lowest, at 13.4% of GDP. The median was 79.8% of GDP. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest185.3Greece
Lowest13.4Estonia
Median79.822 EU countries

Map of EU countries, 2015

Austria: 103.8 % of GDPBelgium: 127.4 % of GDPCzechia: 52 % of GDPGermany: 79.2 % of GDPDenmark: 58.1 % of GDPEstonia: 13.4 % of GDPSpain: 120 % of GDPFinland: 80.4 % of GDPFrance: 121.6 % of GDPGreece: 185.3 % of GDPHungary: 98.8 % of GDPIreland: 89.4 % of GDPItaly: 155.9 % of GDPLithuania: 53.2 % of GDPLuxembourg: 29.1 % of GDPLatvia: 47.8 % of GDPNetherlands: 78.9 % of GDPPoland: 70 % of GDPPortugal: 147.9 % of GDPSweden: 63.7 % of GDPSlovenia: 104.2 % of GDPSlovakia: 66.4 % of GDP
  • Under 54
  • 54 to 74
  • 74 to 95
  • 95 to 120
  • 120 and over
  • No data
% of GDP, 2015. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: OECD, OECD National Accounts at a Glance: gross debt of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, LES13_FD4). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2015

Greece: 185.3 % of GDPGreece185.3Italy: 155.9 % of GDPItaly155.9Portugal: 147.9 % of GDPPortugal147.9Belgium: 127.4 % of GDPBelgium127.4France: 121.6 % of GDPFrance121.6Spain: 120 % of GDPSpain120Slovenia: 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 GDPNetherlands78.9Poland: 70 % of GDPPoland70Slovakia: 66.4 % of GDPSlovakia66.4Sweden: 63.7 % of GDPSweden63.7Denmark: 58.1 % of GDPDenmark58.1Lithuania: 53.2 % of GDPLithuania53.2Czechia: 52 % of GDPCzechia52Latvia: 47.8 % of GDPLatvia47.8Luxembourg: 29.1 % of GDPLuxembourg29.1Estonia: 13.4 % of GDPEstonia13.4Greece: 185.3 % of GDPGreece185.3Italy: 155.9 % of GDPItaly155.9Portugal: 147.9 % of GDPPortugal147.9Belgium: 127.4 % of GDPBelgium127.4France: 121.6 % of GDPFrance121.6Spain: 120 % of GDPSpain120Slovenia: 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 GDPNetherlands78.9Poland: 70 % of GDPPoland70Slovakia: 66.4 % of GDPSlovakia66.4Sweden: 63.7 % of GDPSweden63.7Denmark: 58.1 % of GDPDenmark58.1Lithuania: 53.2 % of GDPLithuania53.2Czechia: 52 % of GDPCzechia52Latvia: 47.8 % of GDPLatvia47.8Luxembourg: 29.1 % of GDPLuxembourg29.1Estonia: 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

RankEU countries2015
% of GDP
Change on 2014
1Greece185.3+1 pts
2Italy155.9+1 pts
3Portugal147.9-1.9 pts
4Belgium127.4-3.3 pts
5France121.6+0.6 pts
6Spain120-3 pts
7Slovenia104.2+3 pts
8Austria103.8-1.8 pts
9Hungary98.8-1.8 pts
10Ireland89.4-33.3 pts
11Finland80.4+4.1 pts
12Germany79.2-4.2 pts
13Netherlands78.9-4 pts
14Poland70-1.6 pts
15Slovakia66.4-1.5 pts
16Sweden63.7-1.8 pts
17Denmark58.1-5.7 pts
18Lithuania53.2+0.3 pts
19Czechia52-2.9 pts
20Latvia47.8-4.9 pts
21Luxembourg29.1+0.1 pts
22Estonia13.4-1.3 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 EU 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) (EU 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), EU 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/eu-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). EU 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/eu-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), EU 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/eu-countries?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{organisation_eu_countries_by_general_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): EU 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/eu-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): EU 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/eu-countries?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/general-government-gross-debt/eu-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  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

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 EU countries by general government gross debt, national accounts using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"general_government_debt_gdp","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=general_government_debt_gdp&level=country&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

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

Greece, with 185.3% of GDP in 2015, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Which EU 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

EU countries: more rankings