Countries with the lowest national debt 2022 | Statista (2024)

FAQs

Countries with the lowest national debt 2022 | Statista? ›

Japan has the highest percentage of national debt in the world at 259.43% of its annual GDP.

Japan has the highest percentage of national debt in the world at 259.43% of its annual GDP.

Nearly half of all US foreign-owned debt comes from five countries. All values are adjusted to 2023 dollars. As of January 2023, the five countries owning the most US debt are Japan ($1.1 trillion), China ($859 billion), the United Kingdom ($668 billion), Belgium ($331 billion), and Luxembourg ($318 billion).

At the end of 2023, the lowest ratios of government debt to GDP were recorded in Estonia (19.6 %), Bulgaria (23.1 %), Luxembourg (25.7 %), Denmark (29.3 %), Sweden (31.2 %) and Lithuania (38.3 %).

1) Switzerland. It is no surprise to see Switzerland on this list. Switzerland is a country that, in practically all economic and social metrics, is an example to follow. With a population of almost 9 million people, Switzerland has no natural resources of its own, no access to the sea, and virtually no public debt.

Extraordinarily low interest rates allow the U.S. to shoulder a heavier debt burden, but the debt is on an unsustainable course and its size may limit the government's ability or willingness to continue to fight the economic ill effects of the pandemic or future economic downturns.

Among other countries, Japan and China have continued to be the top owners of US debt during the last two decades. Since the dollar is a strong currency that is accepted globally, holding a substantial amount of US debt can be beneficial.

Around 70% of Japanese government bonds are purchased by the Bank of Japan, and much of the remainder is purchased by Japanese banks and trust funds, which largely insulates the prices and yields of such bonds from the effects of the global bond market and reduces their sensitivity to credit rating changes.

Under current policy, the United States has about 20 years for corrective action after which no amount of future tax increases or spending cuts could avoid the government defaulting on its debt whether explicitly or implicitly (i.e., debt monetization producing significant inflation).

What happens if China dumps US bonds? ›

If China (or any other nation that has a trade surplus with the U.S.) stops buying U.S. Treasuries or even starts dumping its U.S. forex reserves, its trade surplus would become a trade deficit—something which no export-oriented economy would want, as they would be worse off as a result.

It's 22% higher than the U.S. gross national product as of June 30 (about $27 trillion). It's six times the U.S. debt figure in 2000 ($5.6 trillion). Paid back interest-free at the rate of $1 million an hour, $33 trillion would take more than 3,750 years.

Though China owns a large amount of U.S. debt, it isn't the United States's largest creditor. The greatest amount of U.S. debt is owned by the U.S. government, while the largest foreign creditor is Japan. China owns around 2.6% of U.S. debt, which it buys because the Chinese yuan is pegged to the dollar.

1. Luxembourg. Luxembourg is one of the richest countries in Europe. With a population of around 650,000, it boasts a remarkable GDP per capita of over $115,000, making it the highest in the world as of 2022.

The United States pays interest on approximately $850 billion in debt held by the People's Republic of China. China, however, is currently in default on its sovereign debt held by American bondholders.

In the latest reports, Russia National Government Debt reached 281.6 USD bn in Feb 2024. The country's Nominal GDP reached 494.7 USD bn in Mar 2023.

We estimate that the U.S. debt held by the public cannot exceed about 200 percent of GDP even under today's generally favorable market conditions.