Government debt
What Australia's governments owe against the size of the economy, and how that compares with the countries Australia is usually measured against.
30 September 2026Last checked
Australia now
51.0%
What every level of government owed in 2025, as a share of that year's economic output. 50.6% the year before.
Annual. International Monetary Fund.
Show the figures
| Period | Share of GDP |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 51.0% |
| 2024 | 50.6% |
| 2023 | 49.4% |
| 2022 | 50.0% |
| 2021 | 55.4% |
| 2020 | 56.9% |
| 2019 | 46.5% |
| 2018 | 41.6% |
| 2017 | 41.0% |
| 2016 | 40.5% |
| 2015 | 37.6% |
| 2014 | 33.9% |
| 2013 | 30.3% |
| 2012 | 27.4% |
| 2011 | 24.0% |
| 2010 | 20.3% |
| 2009 | 16.6% |
| 2008 | 11.7% |
| 2007 | 9.6% |
| 2006 | 9.9% |
| 2005 | 10.8% |
| 2004 | 11.9% |
| 2003 | 13.2% |
| 2002 | 15.0% |
| 2001 | 17.1% |
| 2000 | 19.5% |
Australia against 45 other countries
2025, the latest year the IMF has for all 46. Australia’s 51.0% is 31st highest of the 46. The dashed line is the median, 61.7%. Gross debt counts what governments owe and nothing they own. The latest year can be the IMF's estimate until a country's accounts are final.
- Japan206.5%
- Singapore171.3%
- Greece145.7%
- Italy137.1%
- United States123.9%
- France116.0%
- Canada113.5%
- Belgium106.3%
- United Kingdom102.3%
- Spain100.4%
- China99.2%
- Brazil93.3%
- Portugal89.9%
- Finland89.3%
- India84.1%
- Austria80.5%
- Argentina80.3%
- South Africa78.6%
- Hungary75.2%
- Israel68.5%
- Slovenia65.9%
- Germany62.9%
- Mexico61.8%
- Slovakia61.6%
- Costa Rica60.4%
- Colombia59.9%
- Poland58.8%
- Iceland56.1%
- New Zealand54.7%
- South Korea52.3%
- Australia51.0%
- Latvia46.9%
- Norway45.0%
- Czechia44.6%
- Netherlands43.3%
- Chile41.8%
- Indonesia41.0%
- Lithuania39.8%
- Switzerland39.4%
- Sweden34.9%
- Ireland32.9%
- Saudi Arabia31.7%
- Denmark27.5%
- Luxembourg27.0%
- Estonia24.2%
- Türkiye23.5%
Annual. IMF, updated April 2026.
How it is measured
- What it is
- Everything that every level of government owes and must repay, as a share of one year's economic output (GDP). It is gross: nothing a government owns, such as a savings fund, is subtracted.
- Australia's figure
- The International Monetary Fund's figure for Australia, from its World Economic Outlook. It counts federal, state and local government together.
- The comparison
- The same IMF measure for every country: general government gross debt as a share of GDP. The IMF's forecasts for later years are left out.
- The countries
- The 38 members of the OECD, seven more G20 economies (Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa), and Singapore. The same 46 on every page.
- When it changes
- Twice a year, in April and October, when the IMF publishes the World Economic Outlook. The year compared moves on with each April edition.