The table ranks economies by general government gross debt as a percentage of GDP, using the IMF World Economic Outlook database series carried in the Invest Global dataset. All five figures are for 2025, and the ranking covers the 186 economies with a reading for that period.
| Economy | Gross debt | Period | Source | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venezuela | 308.7% of GDP | 2025 | International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database | 8 October 2026 |
| Japan | 206.5% of GDP | 2025 | International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database | 8 October 2026 |
| Sudan | 187.6% of GDP | 2025 | International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database | 8 October 2026 |
| Singapore | 171.3% of GDP | 2025 | International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database | 8 October 2026 |
| Bahrain | 147.6% of GDP | 2025 | International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database | 8 October 2026 |
The chart data panel lists each value with its source and as-of date.
The IMF describes the measure this way: "Gross debt consists of all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest and/or principal by the debtor to the creditor at a date or dates in the future." The description comes from the IMF DataMapper indicator page for the series. The ratio is expressed as a percentage of GDP.
The median across the 186 economies is 53.3% of GDP. Each entry in the table is well above it:
The first-ranked figure of 308.7% of GDP compares with 147.6% of GDP for the fifth. The dataset used for this article does not carry the series needed to explain why each economy sits where it does, such as interest costs, maturities or currency of issue, so the article attributes no cause to any entry. It states a fact about a ratio and nothing more.
Only the ratio of gross debt to GDP is shown. The dataset used here has no net debt, revenue, interest payment or maturity series for these economies, so the post makes no statement on any of them. It also covers only economies with a 2025 reading in the IMF series. An economy without one is absent, and its absence says nothing about its debt.
Every value in the table carries the period 2025 and the source name International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database. If you set these figures beside other series, such as inflation or reserves, check that the other series cover the same period. The Invest Global profile pages show each indicator with its own period, and the sources list at the end of this article gives the retrieval date for the IMF series used here.
The ranking takes the IMF series in the Invest Global dataset, uses the 2025 readings, sorts them from high to low and shows the top five. The median is computed over the same 186 economies. The data status page shows when the IMF series was last refreshed.
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Venezuela has the highest ratio at 308.7% of GDP for 2025, based on the IMF World Economic Outlook series carried in the dataset.
Across the 186 economies with a 2025 reading, the median is 53.3% of GDP. It is computed over the same economies as the ranking.
No. The ranking shows a ratio and nothing else. This article gives information only and does not assess default risk for any government.
Gross debt is the series carried in the dataset. The IMF description quoted above sets out what the series includes.
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