30 Countries with Highest Debt-to-GDP: 2024 Rankings

Ali Hassan
11 min read

In This Article:

In this article, we will take a look at the 30 countries with highest debt-to-GDP ratio. You can skip our detailed analysis and go directly to the 10 Countries with Highest Debt-to-GDP: 2024 Rankings.

Global Debt Distress

The global debt distress is a complicated thing for policymakers as they continue to work on preserving debt sustainability. In 2021, the advanced and global economies grew by 5.3% and 5.9%, respectively. Despite 2021 being a recovery year for the global economy, the growth bubble was short-lived. According to the IMF Global Debt Database, the global public debt fell from 10% of GDP in 2022 for the second consecutive year to 238% of GDP. The drop in global debt was mainly driven by the withdrawal of fiscal support measures related to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other factors that played an important role were the rebound in economic activity, inflation surprises, and interest rate hikes. In advanced economies and several emerging economies, private debt declined. While countries including China and some low-income developing countries followed the opposite trend with an increase in debt. After three years of sustainability, the global debt point seems to be returning to its long-term increasing trend. China is in the driver's seat in the journey to rise in global debt.  

The global debt-to-GDP ratios were on a decades-long rising trend before the pandemic. Global public debt tripled since the mid-1970s, reaching 92% of GDP or $91 trillion by the end of 2022. Private debt also tripled to 146% of GDP, reaching $144 trillion between 1960 and 2022. China has been a central figure in the increase of global debt in recent decades. Similarly, the US has contributed to the rise in debt share of GDP. China’s total debt is around $47.5 trillion, still on a lower side than the US which is close to $70 trillion. Whereas, China’s non-financial corporate debt share is 28%, the largest in the world. China and the US remain two of the leading countries with the highest debt-to-GDP ratios.

Emerging economies and low-income economies are the most affected by debt vulnerabilities. Among the emerging economies, 25% are at a high risk of facing “default-like” spreads on their sovereign debt. Among low-income economies, around 15% are in debt distress, in addition to another 45% at high risk of debt distress. As reported by the IMF, emerging and low-income economies would need approximately $440 billion in additional financing between 2022 to 2026 to speed up the convergence of their incomes with those of advanced economies. The IMF policymakers believe that the rising debt trend is emerging once again as it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. On January 25, Reuters reported that the IMF is still focusing on a case-by-case approach to manage sovereign debt issues. At the same time, the policymakers at the IMF are closely observing the developments to be ready for a more systemic approach if needed. Strategy Chief at the IMF, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu said the 20 common frameworks for debt restructuring assisted countries that needed debt relief. However, Pazarbasioglu also highlighted that there is much more that needs to be done, such as quicker and more predictable relief reaching a broader set of countries.

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