Statizoid

Total government debt (current LCU) by country

Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the...

Countries reporting
44
Highest
124.15 trillion current LCU
Mozambique
Lowest
0 current LCU
Mauritania
Median
509.88 billion current LCU
Years covered
47
1965–2011
Data points
1,020

What the numbers show

Total government debt (current LCU) is currently reported for 44 countries. The highest value is 124.15 trillion current LCU in Mozambique; the lowest is 0 current LCU in Mauritania.

The median across all reporting countries is 509.88 billion current LCU, and the mean is 5.42 trillion current LCU.

Over the past decade 27 countries rose and 13 fell. The largest increase was in Angola (up 1,473.7%), and the largest decrease in Cape Verde (down 100.0%).

Total government debt: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Mozambique 124.15 trillion current LCU 2011 up 20.7% rising
2 Zambia 20.86 trillion current LCU 2011 down 25.1% volatile
3 Tanzania 20.65 trillion current LCU 2011 up 215.6% volatile
4 Cote d'Ivoire 16.22 trillion current LCU 1998 up 386.9% volatile
5 Guinea 15.46 trillion current LCU 2011 up 293.5% volatile
6 Uganda 8.85 trillion current LCU 2011 up 37.7% volatile
7 Nigeria 4.34 trillion current LCU 2002 up 305.7% volatile
8 Madagascar 4.08 trillion current LCU 1996 up 495.1% volatile
9 Sao Tome and Principe 3.31 trillion current LCU 2005 — volatile
10 Angola 3.08 trillion current LCU 2011 up 1,473.7% volatile
11 Senegal 2.09 trillion current LCU 2011 down 11.8% rising
12 Algeria 2.01 trillion current LCU 2011 down 11.4% falling
13 Burundi 1.60 trillion current LCU 2004 up 520.4% volatile
14 Gabon 1.57 trillion current LCU 2008 down 40.0% rising
15 South Africa 1.53 trillion current LCU 2008 up 235.3% volatile
16 Kenya 1.18 trillion current LCU 2011 up 116.5% volatile
17 Cameroon 1.11 trillion current LCU 2009 down 77.2% volatile
18 Sierra Leone 986.59 billion current LCU 2007 down 48.5% volatile
19 Egypt 935.16 billion current LCU 2011 up 301.7% volatile
20 Chad 619.80 billion current LCU 1999 up 55.7% rising
21 Malawi 551.29 billion current LCU 2009 up 310.9% volatile
22 Guinea-Bissau 525.00 billion current LCU 2011 down 10.5% volatile
23 Rwanda 494.76 billion current LCU 2008 up 14.4% rising
24 Morocco 417.12 billion current LCU 2011 up 45.7% volatile
25 Burkina Faso 404.58 billion current LCU 2011 up 204.6% volatile
26 Mali 294.00 billion current LCU 2010 — volatile
27 Central African Republic 277.60 billion current LCU 2009 down 53.8% falling
28 Mauritius 194.19 billion current LCU 2011 up 139.9% volatile
29 Ethiopia 164.93 billion current LCU 2011 up 127.4% volatile
30 Comoros 139.31 billion current LCU 2008 down 16.7% rising
31 Djibouti 93.51 billion current LCU 2005 up 48.6% rising
32 Eritrea 40.90 billion current LCU 2009 up 402.0% volatile
33 Ghana 38.70 billion current LCU 2010 up 412.2% volatile
34 Tunisia 29.88 billion current LCU 2011 up 65.6% rising
35 Namibia 26.52 billion current LCU 2011 up 316.5% volatile
36 Botswana 18.58 billion current LCU 2011 up 306.9% volatile
37 Eswatini 7.26 billion current LCU 2011 up 149.9% volatile
38 Lesotho 7.05 billion current LCU 2011 down 10.5% volatile
39 Zimbabwe 6.33 billion current LCU 2011 up 28.4% rising
40 Seychelles 4.81 billion current LCU 2010 down 16.8% rising
41 Congo 1.43 billion current LCU 2011 down 73.5% volatile
42 Cape Verde 13,673 current LCU 2010 down 100.0% volatile
43 Gambia 0 current LCU 1989 — flat
43 Mauritania 0 current LCU 1994 — flat

About this data

Indicator
Total government debt (current LCU)
Unit
current LCU
Source
World Bank country economists
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
44 places, 1,020 data points, 1965–2011
Last refreshed

Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a flow, it is measured as of a given date, usually the last day of the fiscal year. Data are in current local currency.