No independent country is entirely free of debt in the modern global economy, as national debt is a standard tool for economic management. However, some countries maintain exceptionally low debt-to-GDP ratios, often due to high resource wealth, small populations, or strong fiscal reserves.
1 United States 21,764,799 2 Euro area 18,075,643 3 United Kingdom 9,837,535 4 France 7,368,685 5 Norway 7,110,029 6 Germany 6,6,91,139 7 Japan 4,687,815 8 Netherlands 4,197,719 9 Luxembourg 3,965,300 10 Italy 2,749,75 https://www.ceicdata. com/en/indicator/norway/external-debt--of-nominal- gdp https://www.gfmag.com/ ...
Germany National Government Debt reached 3,271.3 USD bn in Sep 2025, compared with 3,217.2 USD bn in the previous quarter. Germany National Government Debt data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 2000 to Sep 2025.
Over the following 45 years, the debt grew. Notably, the public debt actually shrank to zero by January 1835, under President Andrew Jackson. But soon after, it quickly grew into the millions again. The American Civil War resulted in dramatic debt growth.
At the end of 2024, 12 out of 27 EU countries reported debt to GDP ratios higher than 60.0%, while 5 EU countries recorded debt to GDP ratios of more than 100.0%: Greece recorded the highest debt to GDP ratio (154.2%), followed by Italy (134.9%), France (113.2%), Belgium (103.9%) and Spain (101.6%).
Which Countries Have Little To No National Debt And Why? - Learn About Economics
Who has the worst economy in Europe?
As of 2024, Germany is most commonly referred to as the "Sick Man of Europe" due to its consistently stagnant economy, and in particular its industrial base, since the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the reduction in imports of inexpensive natural gas from Russia after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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.
Ranked: Countries With the Most Government Debt in 2025
The U.S. ($38.3T) and China ($18.7T) are the two countries with the most government debt, and together make up just over half of the world's total debt ($110.9T).
The top five countries make up 67% of the world's government debt, while the top 10 make up 81%.
Including both private and public debt holders, the top three December 2020 national holders of American public debt are Japan ($1.2 trillion or 17.7%), China ($1.1 trillion or 15.2%), and the United Kingdom ($0.4 trillion or 6.2%).
In total, the Allies took about $413 million worth of reparations (both in money and in goods) from their occupation zones. In 1952, the London Agreement on German External Debts assessed the final reparation figure at $3 billion. Germany has yet to pay off its debts for World War II.
Of all G20 countries, the United States has the highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. After adjusting for purchasing power the United States GDP per inhabitant totaled 63,400 international US dollar (int. US$) in 2020. According to IMF estimates, Germany was the second highest ranked G20 country (54,100 int.
Japan consistently ranks among the countries with the highest national debt. In 2022, the nation's debt was estimated at almost 10 trillion U.S. dollars , while its GDP is just 4.2 trillion . The Japanese government is currently spending around half of its total tax revenue on servicing its massive debt.
In 1832, he vetoed a bill by Congress to reauthorize the Second Bank of the United States, viewing the Bank as a fourth branch of government run by the elite. After a lengthy struggle, the Bank was dismantled. In 1835, Jackson became the only U.S. president to pay off the national debt.
At the end of the second quarter of 2025, Belgium's public debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 106.2%, behind only Greece (151.2%), Italy (138.3%) and France (115.8%). At the other end of the scale, the lowest debt ratios were recorded in Estonia (23.2%), Luxembourg (25.1%), and Bulgaria (26.3%).
U.S. Treasuries have been considered the safest debt on the planet ever since the end of World War II. But they are backed only by the “full faith & credit” of the U.S. government.
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.