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 2021, at 220.9% of GDP. Estonia had the lowest, at 25.1% of GDP. The median was 77.7% of GDP. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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Highest220.9Greece
Lowest25.1Estonia
Median77.722 EU countries

Map of EU countries, 2021

Austria: 101.6 % of GDPBelgium: 129.2 % of GDPCzechia: 46.7 % of GDPGermany: 78.4 % of GDPDenmark: 54.3 % of GDPEstonia: 25.1 % of GDPSpain: 139.3 % of GDPFinland: 82.1 % of GDPFrance: 136.7 % of GDPGreece: 220.9 % of GDPHungary: 88.3 % of GDPIreland: 63.1 % of GDPItaly: 169 % of GDPLithuania: 50.2 % of GDPLuxembourg: 31.2 % of GDPLatvia: 60.5 % of GDPNetherlands: 64.3 % of GDPPoland: 67.4 % of GDPPortugal: 142.2 % of GDPSweden: 60.1 % of GDPSlovenia: 90.1 % of GDPSlovakia: 76.9 % of GDP
  • Under 55
  • 55 to 66
  • 66 to 86
  • 86 to 140
  • 140 and over
  • No data
% of GDP, 2021. 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, 2021

Greece: 220.9 % of GDPGreece220.9Italy: 169 % of GDPItaly169Portugal: 142.2 % of GDPPortugal142.2Spain: 139.3 % of GDPSpain139.3France: 136.7 % of GDPFrance136.7Belgium: 129.2 % of GDPBelgium129.2Austria: 101.6 % of GDPAustria101.6Slovenia: 90.1 % of GDPSlovenia90.1Hungary: 88.3 % of GDPHungary88.3Finland: 82.1 % of GDPFinland82.1Germany: 78.4 % of GDPGermany78.4Slovakia: 76.9 % of GDPSlovakia76.9Poland: 67.4 % of GDPPoland67.4Netherlands: 64.3 % of GDPNetherlands64.3Ireland: 63.1 % of GDPIreland63.1Latvia: 60.5 % of GDPLatvia60.5Sweden: 60.1 % of GDPSweden60.1Denmark: 54.3 % of GDPDenmark54.3Lithuania: 50.2 % of GDPLithuania50.2Czechia: 46.7 % of GDPCzechia46.7Luxembourg: 31.2 % of GDPLuxembourg31.2Estonia: 25.1 % of GDPEstonia25.1Greece: 220.9 % of GDPGreece220.9Italy: 169 % of GDPItaly169Portugal: 142.2 % of GDPPortugal142.2Spain: 139.3 % of GDPSpain139.3France: 136.7 % of GDPFrance136.7Belgium: 129.2 % of GDPBelgium129.2Austria: 101.6 % of GDPAustria101.6Slovenia: 90.1 % of GDPSlovenia90.1Hungary: 88.3 % of GDPHungary88.3Finland: 82.1 % of GDPFinland82.1Germany: 78.4 % of GDPGermany78.4Slovakia: 76.9 % of GDPSlovakia76.9Poland: 67.4 % of GDPPoland67.4Netherlands: 64.3 % of GDPNetherlands64.3Ireland: 63.1 % of GDPIreland63.1Latvia: 60.5 % of GDPLatvia60.5Sweden: 60.1 % of GDPSweden60.1Denmark: 54.3 % of GDPDenmark54.3Lithuania: 50.2 % of GDPLithuania50.2Czechia: 46.7 % of GDPCzechia46.7Luxembourg: 31.2 % of GDPLuxembourg31.2Estonia: 25.1 % of GDPEstonia25.1
% 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 countries2021
% of GDP		Change on 2020
1Greece220.9-12.9 pts
2Italy169-12.3 pts
3Portugal142.2-14 pts
4Spain139.3-7.3 pts
5France136.7-7.8 pts
6Belgium129.2-9.9 pts
7Austria101.6-6.3 pts
8Slovenia90.1-10.9 pts
9Hungary88.3-8.2 pts
10Finland82.1-5.1 pts
11Germany78.4-2.4 pts
12Slovakia76.9+0.1 pts
13Poland67.4-9.5 pts
14Netherlands64.3-4.5 pts
15Ireland63.1-8.7 pts
16Latvia60.5+3.4 pts
17Sweden60.1-3.9 pts
18Denmark54.3-8.3 pts
19Lithuania50.2-4.5 pts
20Czechia46.7+0.7 pts
21Luxembourg31.2-1.8 pts
22Estonia25.1-0.1 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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{organisation_eu_countries_by_general_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/general-government-gross-debt/eu-countries?period=2021.
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 220.9% of GDP in 2021, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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

Estonia, with 25.1% of GDP in 2021.

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