China vs Saudi Arabia
China vs Saudi Arabia: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 98.6% of GDP in China and 31.8% of GDP in Saudi Arabia, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in China, by 66.8 percentage points, or 3.1 times that in Saudi Arabia.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- China has been higher since 2007, when it overtook Saudi Arabia.
- In 2025, China ranked 17 and Saudi Arabia ranked 122 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts China at 122.1% of GDP and Saudi Arabia at 48.7% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | China | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 98.6 | 31.8 |
| 2024 | 90.5 | 25.9 |
| 2023 | 84.1 | 23 |
| 2022 | 77.3 | 21.3 |
| 2021 | 72.1 | 25.5 |
| 2020 | 70.6 | 29.7 |
| 2019 | 59.9 | 20.3 |
| 2018 | 55.7 | 16.8 |
| 2017 | 53.7 | 16 |
| 2016 | 50 | 12.3 |
| 2015 | 40.9 | 5.5 |
| 2014 | 39.4 | 1.5 |
| 2013 | 36.6 | 2.1 |
| 2012 | 33.9 | 3 |
| 2011 | 33 | 5.3 |
| 2010 | 33.1 | 8.4 |
| 2009 | 33.9 | 14 |
| 2008 | 26.6 | 12.1 |
| 2007 | 28.8 | 17.1 |
| 2006 | 25.2 | 25.8 |
| 2005 | 26 | 37.3 |
| 2004 | 25.9 | 62.9 |
| 2003 | 26.4 | 81.6 |
| 2002 | 25.5 | 96.4 |
| 2001 | 24.2 | 93.2 |
| 2000 | 22.6 | 86.7 |
| 1999 | 21.6 | 103 |
| 1998 | 20.4 | 101.5 |
| 1997 | 20.4 | 76.7 |
| 1996 | 21.2 | 75.2 |
| 1995 | 21.4 | 74.3 |
| 1994 | – | 67.9 |
| 1993 | – | 58.6 |
| 1992 | – | 47.8 |
| 1991 | – | 39.4 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | China | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 104.4 | 35.4 |
| 2027 | 109.1 | 37.3 |
| 2028 | 113.2 | 40.2 |
| 2029 | 116.4 | 43.1 |
| 2030 | 119.5 | 45.9 |
| 2031 | 122.1 | 48.7 |
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
China vs Saudi Arabia
Health
- Life expectancyChina: 78 years in 2023Saudi Arabia: 78.7 years in 2023
- Child mortalityChina: 0.6 per 100 live births in 2024Saudi Arabia: 0.6 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityChina: 5.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023Saudi Arabia: 5.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionChina: 3.31% in 2017Saudi Arabia: 3.54% in 2017
- Suicide rateChina: 7.2 per 100,000 people in 2017Saudi Arabia: 2.9 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationChina: 1.42 billion people in 2023Saudi Arabia: 33.3 million people in 2023
- Population growthChina: -0.24% a year in 2023Saudi Arabia: 2.39% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateChina: 1 births per woman in 2023Saudi Arabia: 2.28 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationChina: 66.3% in 2025Saudi Arabia: 84.6% in 2025
- Median ageChina: 39.1 years in 2023Saudi Arabia: 29.3 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overChina: 14.3% in 2023Saudi Arabia: 2.8% in 2023
- Net migration rateChina: -0.4 per 1,000 people in 2023Saudi Arabia: 9.8 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingChina: 1.73% of GDP in 2025Saudi Arabia: 6.48% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsChina: $335B in 2025Saudi Arabia: $81.5B in 2025
- Military spending per personChina: $237 in 2025Saudi Arabia: $2,428 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingChina: 5.1% of government spending in 2025Saudi Arabia: 23.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelChina: 2.54 million people in 2020Saudi Arabia: 282,000 people in 2020
- National powerChina: 23.41% of world capability in 2022Saudi Arabia: 1.34% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersChina: 0.33% of the labour force in 2020Saudi Arabia: 1.92% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsChina: 207 million TIV in 2025Saudi Arabia: 3.04 billion TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsChina: 880 million TIV in 2025Saudi Arabia: 3 million TIV in 2023