Bangladesh vs Iran: Government debt

Government debt: 42% of GDP in Bangladesh in 2025 and 31.2% of GDP in Iran in 2024, by IMF estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in Bangladesh, by 9.7 percentage points, or 1.31 times that in Iran.

Watch it change on the map

% of GDP · IMF

BangladeshIranIMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026)

What the numbers say

Bangladesh has been higher since 2022, when it overtook Iran.
The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Bangladesh at 49.4% of GDP and Iran at 43.4% of GDP in 2031.

Every year

% of GDP · IMF

Year	Bangladesh	Iran
2025	42	35.6
2024	41	31.2
2023	39.7	29.6
2022	37.9	34.5
2021	35.6	39.9
2020	34.5	47.1
2019	32	44.6
2018	29.6	41.6
2017	28.3	43.2
2016	27.7	46
2015	28.2	32.1
2014	28.7	10.9
2013	28.3	10.2
2012	29.1	11.8
2011	29.4	10.6
2010	29.6	12.8
2009	33	11.5
2008	33.9	10.6
2007	35	13.5
2006	35.3	15.2
2005	35.6	18.3
2004	36.6	21.1
2003	37	22
2002	–	23.4
2001	–	21
2000	–	18.2
1999	–	22.2
1998	–	29.6
1997	–	30.9
1996	–	29.3

12.3Projected

IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031

Year	Bangladesh	Iran
2026	40.5	39.1
2027	40.4	40.2
2028	42.8	40.8
2029	45.5	41.7
2030	47.6	42.7
2031	49.4	43.4

Each country on its own

Good to know

What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.

How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time

Bangladesh vs Iran: Government debt

What the numbers say

Every year

Each country on its own

Good to know

Bangladesh vs Iran

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