The US is not #1

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How Debt-to-GDP Ratios Have Changed Since 2000

Government debt levels have grown in most parts of the world since the 2008 financial crisis, and even more so after the COVID-19 pandemic.

To gain perspective on this long-term trend, we’ve visualized the debt-to-GDP ratios of advanced economies, as of 2000 and 2024 (estimated). All figures were sourced from the IMF’s World Economic Outlook

Data and Highlights

The data we used to create this graphic is listed in the table below. “Government gross debt” consists of all liabilities that require payment(s) of interest and/or principal in the future.

Country 2000 (%) 2024 (%) Change (pp)

🇯🇵 Japan 135.6 251.9 +116.3

🇸🇬 Singapore 82.3 168.3 +86.0

🇺🇸 United States 55.6 126.9 +71.3

🇬🇧 United Kingdom 36.6 105.9 +69.3

🇬🇷 Greece 104.9 160.2 +55.3

🇫🇷 France 58.9 110.5 +51.6

🇵🇹 Portugal 54.2 104.0 +49.8

🇪🇸 Spain 57.8 104.7 +46.9

🇸🇮 Slovenia 25.9 66.5 +40.6

🇫🇮 Finland 42.4 76.5 +34.1

🇭🇷 Croatia 35.4 61.8 +26.4

🇨🇦 Canada 80.4 103.3 +22.9

🇨🇾 Cyprus 56.0 70.9 +14.9

🇦🇹 Austria 65.7 74.0 +8.3

🇸🇰 Slovak Republic 50.5 56.5 +6.0

🇩🇪 Germany 59.3 64.0 +4.7

🇧🇪 Belgium 109.6 106.8 -2.8

🇮🇱 Israel 77.4 56.8 -20.6

🇮🇸 Iceland 75.8 54.6 -21.2

The debt-to-GDP ratio indicates how much a country owes compared to the size of its economy, reflecting its ability to manage and repay debts. Percentage point (pp) changes shown above indicate the increase or decrease of these ratios.

Countries with the Biggest Increases

Japan (+116 pp), Singapore (+86 pp), and the U.S. (+71 pp) have grown their debt as a percentage of GDP the most since the year 2000.

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/how-debt-to-gdp-ratios-have-changed-since-2000/

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