China vs Kenya

China vs Kenya: Government debt

Government debt in 2025: 98.6% of GDP in China and 71.3% of GDP in Kenya, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in China, by 27.3 percentage points, or 1.38 times that in Kenya.

Watch it change on the map

% of GDP · IMF

China vs Kenya: Government debtGovernment debt in 2025: 98.6% of GDP in China and 71.3% of GDP in Kenya, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in China, by 27.3 percentage points, or 1.38 times that in Kenya.
ChinaKenyaIMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026)

What the numbers say

  • China has been higher since 2019, when it overtook Kenya.
  • In 2025, China ranked 17 and Kenya ranked 36 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
  • The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts China at 122.1% of GDP and Kenya at 74% of GDP in 2031.

Every year

% of GDP · IMF

YearChinaKenya
202598.671.3
202490.567.3
202384.173.4
202277.367.8
202172.168.2
202070.668
201959.959.1
201855.756.5
201753.753.9
20165050.4
201540.945.8
201439.441.3
201336.639.8
201233.937.6
20113335.7
201033.136.7
200933.936
200826.634.3
200728.834.2
200625.237.1
20052637.4
200425.940.8
200326.443.8
200225.542
200124.241.3
200022.643.1
199921.638.4
199820.438.5
199720.4–
199621.2–
199521.4–
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
YearChinaKenya
2026104.472.9
2027109.173.8
2028113.274.5
2029116.474.4
2030119.574.3
2031122.174

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

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