Data / Rankings / General government gross debt, national accounts / EU countries

EU countries by general government gross debt, national accounts

Greece had the highest general government gross debt, national accounts of 22 EU countries in 2016, at 189% of GDP. Estonia had the lowest, at 13.8% of GDP. The median was 78.8% of GDP. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Highest189Greece
Lowest13.8Estonia
Median78.822 EU countries

All EU countries, 2016

Greece: 189 % of GDPGreece189Italy: 153.2 % of GDPItaly153.2Portugal: 143.7 % of GDPPortugal143.7Belgium: 129 % of GDPBelgium129France: 124.9 % of GDPFrance124.9Spain: 119.9 % of GDPSpain119.9Austria: 103.6 % of GDPAustria103.6Slovenia: 99 % of GDPSlovenia99Hungary: 98.4 % of GDPHungary98.4Ireland: 87.4 % of GDPIreland87.4Finland: 81.1 % of GDPFinland81.1Germany: 76.5 % of GDPGermany76.5Netherlands: 76.4 % of GDPNetherlands76.4Poland: 73 % of GDPPoland73Slovakia: 67.7 % of GDPSlovakia67.7Sweden: 63.1 % of GDPSweden63.1Denmark: 56.9 % of GDPDenmark56.9Latvia: 51.6 % of GDPLatvia51.6Lithuania: 51 % of GDPLithuania51Czechia: 47.5 % of GDPCzechia47.5Luxembourg: 27.1 % of GDPLuxembourg27.1Estonia: 13.8 % of GDPEstonia13.8
% 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 countries2016
% of GDP		Change on 2015
1Greece189+3.8 pts
2Italy153.2-2.7 pts
3Portugal143.7-4.2 pts
4Belgium129+1.6 pts
5France124.9+3.4 pts
6Spain119.9-0.1 pts
7Austria103.6-0.3 pts
8Slovenia99-5.1 pts
9Hungary98.4-0.4 pts
10Ireland87.4-2.1 pts
11Finland81.1+0.8 pts
12Germany76.5-2.7 pts
13Netherlands76.4-2.4 pts
14Poland73+3 pts
15Slovakia67.7+1.3 pts
16Sweden63.1-0.6 pts
17Denmark56.9-1.1 pts
18Latvia51.6+3.8 pts
19Lithuania51-2.2 pts
20Czechia47.5-4.4 pts
21Luxembourg27.1-2.1 pts
22Estonia13.8+0.4 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, 2016) [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, 2016. 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=2016. 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, 2016. 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=2016.

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, 2016 [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=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{organisation_eu_countries_by_general_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  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=2016. 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, 2016
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=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/general-government-gross-debt/eu-countries?period=2016.
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 EU country has the highest general government gross debt, national accounts?

Greece, with 189% of GDP in 2016, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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

Estonia, with 13.8% of GDP in 2016.

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