What country is in the most debt?

As of 2025–2026, the United States holds the highest total government gross debt in the world, surpassing $ 38 $ 3 8 trillion. While the U.S. has the largest absolute debt, other nations like Japan, Greece, and Italy often have higher debt-to-GDP ratios, reflecting a larger burden relative to their economic size.

Which country has the highest debt in the world?

The United States has the world's largest national debt in absolute dollar terms (over $38 trillion in 2025), followed by China and Japan, with these three countries holding a majority of the world's government debt. However, when measured as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Japan often ranks highest (around 230%), indicating a larger debt burden relative to its economic size. 

What country owns most of our debt?

Investors in Japan and China remain among the largest foreign holders of Treasury debt. Foreign ownership of U.S. debt can have implications for the nation's economy and financial markets.

What country has the lowest debt?

Economies with the lowest government debt as a share of GDP 2025. In 2025, Liechtenstein was estimated to have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the world, at just 0.5 percent, with Brunei having the second-lowest at 2.3 percent.

Is the UK debt free?

A failure by successive governments to live within their means has left the UK with a £2.9tn mountain of debt, which is almost as large as the entire economy and costs over £100bn a year in interest payments.

Why Every Country Is in Debt? And Who Do They Owe?

Can China call in U.S. debt?

Consequently, China's stake in U.S. debt has more of a binding than a dividing effect on bilateral relations between the two countries. Even if China wished to “call in” its loans, the use of credit as a coercive measure is complicated and often heavily constrained.

What would happen if China sold U.S. debt?

If China embarked on a mass sale of its US treasuries, the value of the debt would plunge and yields would soar. This would drive up US government borrowing costs and hammer the public finances in a highly destabilising move. But the scenario is highly unlikely, not least because the pain for China would be huge.

How much does Britain owe the US?

United States of America; ( b) what is the amount of the World War II and Post-Wart debt still owed to the United States of America. The unpaid balance of the United Kingdom's 1914–18 War Debt to the United States of America is $4,368 millions.

Is France or the UK in more debt?

Yes, France has a higher debt-to-GDP ratio than the UK, meaning its debt is a larger proportion of its economic output, though both nations have very high public debt levels with forecasts suggesting it will continue to rise in both countries through the late 2020s. While the UK's debt was around 101-103% of GDP and France's was about 113-114% in late 2024/early 2025, France's debt is projected to grow to nearly 128% by 2030, compared to around 106% for the UK, indicating a more rapidly worsening situation in France, according to OMFIF and MacroMicro data. 

What is the poorest country in the world?

The very poorest of the world's poorest countries, South Sudan has been wracked by violence since its creation in 2011.

Which country is heavily in debt?

Advanced Economies Make Up Most of World's Debt

The top five countries alone—the United States, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and France—account for two-thirds of global government debt, together making up $74.8 trillion in debt. 🇺🇸 U.S.

Could China survive without the US?

China's trade resilience throughout the year – despite seeing a 19.5% drop in annual exports to the US, its long time largest single export market – defied expectations and allowed Beijing to show that it can survive even with reduced access to the world's richest consumers.

Who is dumping the US Bond?

Central banks, led by India and China, are significantly reducing US Treasury holdings and increasing gold reserves. This strategic shift reflects a move towards diversification and risk management amid global economic and geopolitical uncertainties.

Can China beat the USA's economy?

By 2024, however, China's $18tn economy had fallen back to just over 62% of the almost $30tn of the US. In GDP per head terms, China is still no more than 20% of the US. A rising China uniquely lifted its share of global GDP between 2000 and 2021 from 3.5% to 18.5%, but since then it has slipped back to about 16.5%.

Which country is not in debt?

There is no independent country that is completely debt-free. Having national debt is considered normal in modern economic systems. The country with the highest national debt is Japan. The United States is not a debt-free country.

Why is the UK debt so high?

While most advanced economies have seen their deficits and debt increase since the pandemic, the UK stands out for running persistent large deficits and a relatively high debt stock in the face of rising interest rates, slowing growth, an ageing population, and rising geopolitical and trade tensions.

Can the US print money to pay off debt?

Shortly after the founding of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Treasury adopted policies that induced the Fed to monetize government debt. Monetizing debt means the government borrows money to buy goods and then repays its debt by printing more money.

What would happen if the US refused to pay its debt to China?

The United States owes its debt to foreign countries, companies, nonprofits, investment funds, and individual investors. If the U.S. just refused to pay its debt—ever—the global financial system would collapse and there would likely be a global depression as well as unpredictable political ramifications.

Which country owes the US the most money?

Japan – $1.13 Trillion Owed

For the past 10 years, Japan has been the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt. As of the latest Treasury data, Japan holds over $1.1 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities. Japan's motivation is driven by economic strategy.