External debt - Country rankings
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
External debt, percent of GDP, 2024:
The average for 2024 based on 39 countries was 262.86 percent. The highest value was in Luxembourg: 3983.17 percent and the lowest value was in Russia: 13.33 percent. The indicator is available from 1990 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.Measure: percent; Source: The World Bank
Select indicator
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| Countries | External debt, 2024 | Global rank | Available data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luxembourg | 3983.17 | 1 | 2002 - 2024 |
| Malta | 797.06 | 2 | 2008 - 2024 |
| Cyprus | 670.48 | 3 | 2008 - 2024 |
| Ireland | 522.34 | 4 | 2002 - 2024 |
| Netherlands | 335.47 | 5 | 2003 - 2024 |
| UK | 267.77 | 6 | 1999 - 2024 |
| France | 240.08 | 7 | 2002 - 2024 |
| Belgium | 235.33 | 8 | 2003 - 2024 |
| Switzerland | 234.52 | 9 | 1999 - 2024 |
| Greece | 232.71 | 10 | 2003 - 2024 |
| Finland | 195.43 | 11 | 2002 - 2024 |
| Sweden | 162.21 | 12 | 1998 - 2024 |
| Spain | 156.18 | 13 | 2002 - 2024 |
| Norway | 151.89 | 14 | 2003 - 2024 |
| Austria | 151.37 | 15 | 2003 - 2024 |
| Germany | 141.74 | 16 | 2001 - 2024 |
| Portugal | 141.14 | 17 | 1998 - 2024 |
| Denmark | 137.32 | 18 | 2003 - 2024 |
| Hungary | 132.59 | 19 | 2002 - 2024 |
| Montenegro | 121.41 | 20 | 2006 - 2024 |
| Italy | 116.1 | 21 | 2002 - 2024 |
| Ukraine | 103.59 | 22 | 1992 - 2024 |
| Slovakia | 96.34 | 23 | 2003 - 2024 |
| Estonia | 93.94 | 24 | 1998 - 2024 |
| Slovenia | 84.42 | 25 | 2001 - 2024 |
| North Macedonia | 76.88 | 26 | 1993 - 2024 |
| Lithuania | 74.55 | 27 | 2003 - 2024 |
| Iceland | 71.66 | 28 | 1998 - 2024 |
| Croatia | 63.96 | 29 | 1999 - 2024 |
| Czechia | 62.67 | 30 | 1999 - 2024 |
| Moldova | 59.5 | 31 | 1992 - 2024 |
| Romania | 55.22 | 32 | 2008 - 2024 |
| Poland | 50.45 | 33 | 1999 - 2024 |
| Bosnia & Herz. | 48.1 | 34 | 1999 - 2024 |
| Bulgaria | 46.12 | 35 | 2005 - 2024 |
| Belarus | 45.79 | 36 | 1993 - 2024 |
| Albania | 40.01 | 37 | 1991 - 2024 |
| Turkey | 38.7 | 38 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Russia | 13.33 | 39 | 2003 - 2024 |
Definition: The total debt of public and private borrowers held by non-residents as percent of GDP. Source: Kose, M. Ayhan, Sergio Kurlat, Franziska Ohnsorge, and Naotaka Sugawara. 2022. "A Cross-Country Database of Fiscal Space." Journal of International Money and Finance 128 (November): 102682.
Selected articles from our guide:
Are trade deficits bad for the economy?
Sources of economic growth
Currency values and investment returns
How to write an economics research paper
All articles
3983.17
797.06
670.48
522.34
335.47
267.77
240.08
235.33
234.52
232.71
195.43
162.21
156.18
151.89
151.37
141.74
141.14
137.32
132.59
121.41
116.10
103.59
96.34
93.94
84.42
76.88
74.55
71.66
63.96
62.67
59.50
55.22
50.45
48.10
46.12
45.79
40.01
38.70
13.33
0
995.8
1991.6
2987.4
3983.17
External debt around the world External debt in Asia External debt in Africa External debt in North America External debt in South America External debt in Australia/Oceania External debt in the European union External debt in Sub Sahara Africa External debt in MENA External debt in South East Asia External debt in Latin America