17 Countries Drowning in Debt

Though countries may appear to be well-to-do or economically thriving, many countries are actually drowning in significant amounts of debt. That includes the United States, which ranks fifth on this list, and Japan.

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In order to find the top 17 countries facing chunks of debt so big they nearly run out of zeroes, GOBankingRates drew from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) “Gross Debt Position: % of GDP” data for every country from its Fiscal Monitor.  The data reveals which countries had debt greater than their GDP, and looked at their approximate gross debt in U.S. dollars.

17. Brazil

The biggest chunk of Brazil’s debt is comprised of private debt, about 120.75% of its GDP, and private debt, loans and securities, 74.33% of its GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 102.76%
• Gross Domestic Product: $1,431,624,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $1,471,199,622,230

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16. Angola

While little data is available on the source of Angola’s debt, its overall balance of lending and borrowing is at -0.13%.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 107.53%
• Gross Domestic Product: $68,072,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $73,195,047,444

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15. United Kingdom

The largest part of the United Kingdom’s debt is in private debt, comprising 189.14% of its GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 111.52%
• Gross Domestic Product: $2,855,671,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $3,184,502,643,989

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14. Cyprus

Cyprus’ biggest portion of debt is private debt at 355.01% of its GDP followed by private debt, loans and securities at 264.57% of GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 112.42%
• Gross Domestic Product: $26,599,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $29,902,147,714

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13. Canada

Canada’s largest share of debt is in private debt, at 265.13% of GDP followed by private debt, loans and securities, at 216.43% of GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 114.97%
• Gross Domestic Product: $1,763,046,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $2,027,009,439,448

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12. Belgium

Belgium’s largest debt is in private debt, at 251.68% of GDP and private debt, loans and securities are at 208.03% of GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 117.07%
• Gross Domestic Product: $576,768,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $675,210,136,488

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11. France

France’s largest debt is private debt, at 267.07% of its GDP. Other debts include nonfinancial corporate debts, at 150.18% of GDP and household debt, loans and securities, at 61.74% of GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 118.57%
• Gross Domestic Product: $2,917,668,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $3,459,558,841,511

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10. Zambia

What data is available only reveals that Zambia’s private debt, loans and securities is 12% of its GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 119.57%
• Gross Domestic Product: $19,564,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $23,392,152,228

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9. Spain

Spain’s largest debt is private debt, at 190.26% of its GDP. Other debts include nonfinancial corporate debts, at 92.81% of GDP and household debt, loans and securities, at 56.9% of GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 121.31%
• Gross Domestic Product: $1,450,882,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $1,760,068,282,124

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8. Mozambique

What data is available only reveals that Mozambique’s private debt, loans and securities is 20.66% of its GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 123.51%
• Gross Domestic Product: $14,142,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $17,466,986,577

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7. Portugal

Portugal’s largest debt is private debt, at 237.83% of its GDP. Other debts include nonfinancial corporate debts, at 96.64% of GDP and household debt, loans and securities, at 63.9% of GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 130.05%
• Gross Domestic Product: $257,055,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $334,292,981,852

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6. Singapore

Of the data available, Singapore’s largest debt is private debt, loans and securities, at 159.1% of its GDP. Other debts include nonfinancial corporate debts, at 107.32% of GDP and household debt, loans and securities, at 51.77% of GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 132.35%
• Gross Domestic Product: $362,524,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $479,810,311,028

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5. United States

Of the data available, the United States’ largest debt is private debt, at 219.2% of GDP, followed by private debt loans and securities, at 150.26% of its GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 133.64%
• Gross Domestic Product: $21,921,585,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $29,296,039,982,837

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4. Italy

Italy’s largest debt is private debt, at 161.8% of GDP, followed by private debt loans and securities, at 109.67% of its GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 158.31%
• Gross Domestic Product: $2,111,649,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $3,342,850,880,550

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3. Greece

Greece’s biggest chunk of debt is private debt, at 120.4% of GDP, followed by private debt loans and securities, at 107.6% of its GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 200.53%
• Gross Domestic Product: $219,012,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $439,191,107,729

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2. Sudan

Of what little data is available, Sudan’s private debt consists of 8.8% of GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 250.71%
• Gross Domestic Product: $32,476,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $81,421,486,905

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1. Japan

Japan’s biggest chunk of debt is private debt, at 206.62% of GDP, followed by private debt loans and securities, at 164.1% of its GDP.

• Gross debt as % of GDP: 263.97%
• Gross Domestic Product: $5,103,175,000,000
• Approximate Total Gross Debt: $13,470,740,001,135

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Methodology: In order to find the countries that are drowning in debt, GOBankingRates looked at the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) “Gross Debt Position: % of GDP” data for every country from its Fiscal Monitor. From this dataset, GOBankingRates identified the 17 countries which had 2021 Gross Debt 100% or more of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), meaning they had a higher debt than GDP. For these 17 countries, GOBankingRates found: (1) gross debt as a percent of GDP; (2) GDP; and (3) total approximate gross debt in USD. The countries were ranked against each other with factor (1) being the only consideration. All data was collected on and up to date as of Feb. 17, 2021.

About the Author

Jordan Rosenfeld

Jordan Rosenfeld is a freelance writer and author of nine books. She holds a B.A. from Sonoma State University and an MFA from Bennington College. Her articles and essays about finances and other topics has appeared in a wide range of publications and clients, including The Atlantic, The Billfold, Good Magazine, GoBanking Rates, Daily Worth, Quartz, Medical Economics, The New York Times, Ozy, Paypal, The Washington Post and for numerous business clients. As someone who had to learn many of her lessons about money the hard way, she enjoys writing about personal finance to empower and educate people on how to make the most of what they have and live a better quality of life.

 

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