According to 'the 2019 World Population Review' which country has the highest national debt (GDP)?

Japan, with its population of 127,185,332, has the highest national debt in the world at 234.18% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), followed by Greece at 181.78%. Japan's national debt currently sits at ¥1,028 trillion ($9.087 trillion USD), as of 2019.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the broadest quantitative measure of a nation's total economic activity. More specifically, GDP represents the monetary value of all goods and services produced within a nation's geographic borders over a specified period of time.

After the stock market crashed in Japan, the government bailed out banks and insurance companies and provided them with low-interest credit. Banking institutions had to be consolidated and nationalized after a period of time and other fiscal stimulus initiatives were used to help reboot the struggling economy.

Unfortunately, these actions caused Japan’s debt level to skyrocket. Russia’s debt ratio is one of the lowest in the world at 19.48% of its GDP.

More Info: worldpopulationreview.com

Test your knowledge

What are your thoughts on this subject?

7 Comments

Leapy Lee

The question is supposedly asking the country with the highest debt in relation to its GDP. It is true that the answer is Japan, and the result is significant BUT the question was so poorly constructed only someone with in depth knowledge of Economics could decipher the question’s intent.

Leapy Lee

Howard Groopman, it isn’t, the question was poorly constructed.

Leapy Lee

Al Breyette, yes, but as the US debt ratio to GDP is only round 120% it is still considered to be in a much better economic position than Japan. The two factors in intertwined and related, but you are correct they are not the same by any means.

Al Breyette

GDP is not even close to being the countries national debt. It is a factor but not the same. The US is the country with the highest national debt in the world.