Public debt: which are the seven most indebted countries in the world?

Which countries have the highest public debt? Find out the ranking and where your country ranks.

Public debt is one parameter that describes a country’s economic situation. We hear it mentioned everywhere, often in relation to another measure, GDP, which indicates the total productive assets of a state.

Since we are in a capitalist system, the entire global economy is based on debt. It is a kind of sap, indispensable to achieving the main objective imposed by the economic system in which we live: growth. In 2008, however, a technology was born that has the potential to revolutionise the global monetary system. We are talking about Bitcoin; you can read more about it below.

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However, let us return to the central theme of this article: Which are the most indebted states in the world, and thus, which is the ranking of the countries with the highest public debt? 

Public debt: a problem to be tackled

The ranking of countries by public debt has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, not so much by the order of the states in the ranking but by the amount of money they owe their creditors. In 2028, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global debt/GDP ratio will reach 100%. 

This indicator, usually used to analyse an individual state’s economic situation, measures the amount of debt in relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), i.e., the total productive assets of a state, over a year.

If the low ratio, GDP is sufficient to repay the annual debt. If, on the other hand, the ratio represents a large gap between debt and GDP, it will mean that production is not enough to repay the debts, and more will have to be demanded, increasing the ratio even further.

The situation is even more serious if we consider the quantitative tightening policies that all major Western governments have implemented since 2022 to combat inflation. Rising interest rates contribute to increasing government debt costs. In other words, the world is sitting on a mountain of debt; global public debt exceeded the worrying $300 trillion mark in March 2024. 

In short, the situation is becoming increasingly critical. Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve (the central bank of the United States), recently said that America ‘has embarked on an unsustainable path’ and is ‘borrowing money from future generations’. Could Bitcoin be the protagonist of the next monetary revolution?

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Despite the above and a total public debt of about 34 trillion dollars, the US does not lead the ranking of countries with the highest public debt. Read on for the ranking!

The ranking of the most indebted countries

The ranking of the countries with the highest public debt is compiled using the debt-to-GDP ratio. The nominal value of this measure taken ‘alone’ does not provide information on the real incidence of a state’s debts.

1. Japan (264%)

Japan has the highest debt-to-GDP ratio. The cause of this debt is the housing bubble that burst in the 1990s.

2. Venezuela (241%)

Venezuela’s devastating economic, political, and social crisis, which erupted during the second half of the last decade, is still not over, and its third-place ranking in the ranking of countries with the highest public debt testifies to this. According to estimates, some 8 million people have recently left the country due to its very serious conditions.

3. Sudan (186%)

Third in the ranking of countries in terms of public debt is Sudan, which has been severely affected by an economic crisis caused by internal conflicts. This has resulted in policies of international isolation negatively influenced by corruption.

4. Greece (173%)

Greece’s avoided default in 2009 is now a distant memory; the country has certainly improved in recent years. In the second quarter of 2023, it was the second fastest-growing country in Europe.

5. Singapore (168%)

Singapore is an incredibly advanced city-state, especially economically, and boasts one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. Despite having a high public debt, rating agencies continue to rate it with top marks.

6. Eritrea (164%)

Eritrea is a dictatorship headed by unelected President Isaias Afewerki. In the African state, the authoritarian government has implemented laws that severely restrict civil and political rights. In addition, it imposes long-term compulsory military and civil service, which forces many citizens to flee.

7. Lebanon (151%)

Lebanon’s economic crisis has been going on for four years. From 2019 onwards, the country’s public debt has grown enormously, reaching 282% of GDP in 2022. In addition, the Lebanese lira is undergoing a major devaluation, currently taking almost 90,000 to reach the value of one US dollar.

8. Italy (142%)

Our country ranks fifth among the most indebted countries. Italy’s public debt reached a new all-time high in February 2023 and, after falling slightly in August, has been rising again since September.

9. USA (129%)

The United States is ninth in the ranking of the most indebted countries. Like Italy, it has pursued quantitative tightening policies to combat inflation. One of the weak points of this type of measure concerns debt. As interest rates rise, so do the states’ liabilities.
Now that you know the ranking of the most indebted countries, you can delve deeper by reading our dedicated Academy article. This starts with a simple definition and then deals with the history of Italy’s public debt.

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