Brunei vs Malaysia: Government debt

Government debt in 2025: 1.6% of GDP in Brunei and 70.5% of GDP in Malaysia, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Malaysia, by 68.9 percentage points, or 43 times that in Brunei.

Watch it change on the map

% of GDP · IMF

BruneiMalaysiaIMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026)

What the numbers say

Malaysia has been higher in every year both have figures for since 2006.
In 2025, Brunei ranked 149 and Malaysia ranked 37 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Brunei at 1.3% of GDP and Malaysia at 65.1% of GDP in 2031.

Every year

% of GDP · IMF

Year	Brunei	Malaysia
2025	1.6	70.5
2024	1.6	69.8
2023	1.7	69.7
2022	1.3	65.5
2021	1.4	69.2
2020	2.2	67.7
2019	1.8	57.1
2018	1.9	55.7
2017	2.6	54.4
2016	3	55.8
2015	3	57
2014	3.2	55.4
2013	2.2	55.7
2012	2.1	53.8
2011	2.1	51.9
2010	1.1	51.2
2009	1.1	50.4
2008	0.9	39.4
2007	0.7	39.4
2006	0.6	39.7
2005	–	40.8
2004	–	42
2003	–	41.4
2002	–	39.5
2001	–	38.1
2000	–	32.5
1999	–	34.4
1998	–	33.6
1997	–	29.6
1996	–	32.8
1995	–	38.2
1994	–	43.7
1993	–	51.1
1992	–	59.1
1991	–	67.3
1990	–	74.1

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

Year	Brunei	Malaysia
2026	1.3	69.2
2027	1.4	68.8
2028	1.4	67.7
2029	1.4	66.7
2030	1.3	65.9
2031	1.3	65.1

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

Brunei vs Malaysia: Government debt

What the numbers say

Every year

Each country on its own

Good to know

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