Washington: The October 2025 update of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) puts Japan at the top of the list of most indebted nations.
Japan has a debt level of 229.6 percent of its GDP. This is the highest in the world and can be attributed to decades of fiscal deficits and an ageing population.
Sudan, faced with years of instability and sanctions comes a close second with a debt load of 221.5 percent of GDP. Singapore comes third with 175.6 percent. This is due to its unique fiscal model that uses government borrowing mainly to fund domestic investment through sovereign wealth funds rather than to finance deficits.
The next four in the list are Greece (146.7 percent), Bahrain (142.5 percent), Italy (136.8 percent) and the Maldives (131.8 percent). All of them face persistent budget pressures linked to external borrowing and slow growth.
The US is in the 8th position, with a debt ratio of 125 percent of GDP. Though the country’s economic growth has been steady, high spending on defense and social programmes continue to widen its fiscal gap.
Senegal, with 122.9 percent, and France (116.5 percent) closes the top 10.
The IMF is worried and has warned that the worlds borrowing burden is edging closer to pre-pandemic peaks.
The total government debt worldwide now equals 94.7 percent of global GDP, up from 92.4 percent recorded a year earlier.
This points to heavy fiscal spending and slower economic recovery across both advanced and emerging economies. IMF projections suggest that the global debt-to-GDP ratio, which had reached 98.9 percent in 2020 during the pandemic, could climb past 102 percent by 2030 if current trends continue.
India has a more modest debt-to-GDP ratio in comparison. With 81.4 percent, it ranks 35th globally. China’s debt-to-GDP ratio stands at 96.3 percent and it is at 21st position in the list. While both remain below the global average, their figures are higher than most developing countries.
Experts believe that the overall pattern highlights a world increasingly dependent on borrowing to maintain growth. For advanced economies, debt often reflects high social spending and long-term infrastructure commitments, while for developing nations, it reveals the rising cost of imports, weak revenue collection and external shocks.
For India, China and other emerging economies, the challenge now lies not in avoiding debt altogether, but in managing it efficiently to sustain growth without letting the burden spiral out of control.
