China vs Netherlands

China vs Netherlands: Government debt

Government debt in 2025: 98.6% of GDP in China and 44.7% of GDP in Netherlands, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in China, by 53.9 percentage points, or 2.2 times that in Netherlands.

Watch it change on the map

% of GDP · IMF

China vs Netherlands: Government debtGovernment debt in 2025: 98.6% of GDP in China and 44.7% of GDP in Netherlands, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in China, by 53.9 percentage points, or 2.2 times that in Netherlands.
ChinaNetherlandsIMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026)

What the numbers say

  • China has been higher since 2018, when it overtook Netherlands.
  • In 2025, China ranked 17 and Netherlands ranked 93 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
  • The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts China at 122.1% of GDP and Netherlands at 48% of GDP in 2031.

Every year

% of GDP · IMF

YearChinaNetherlands
202598.644.7
202490.544
202384.145.9
202277.348.4
202172.150.5
202070.653.4
201959.947.7
201855.751.6
201753.756
20165060.9
201540.963.8
201439.467.2
201336.667.2
201233.965.7
20113361.2
201033.158.9
200933.956.3
200826.654.4
200728.842.7
200625.245
20052649.6
200425.950.1
200326.449.8
200225.548.7
200124.249.4
200022.652.2
199921.658.6
199820.462.7
199720.465.7
199621.271.3
199521.473
1994–73.5
1993–76.7
1992–75.6
1991–74.8
1990–75
1989–73.7
1988–73.7
1987–71.3
1986–69
1985–67.1
1984–61.9
1983–58.4
1982–52.4
1981–46.9
1980–43.6
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
YearChinaNetherlands
2026104.445.4
2027109.145.7
2028113.245.8
2029116.446.3
2030119.547.1
2031122.148

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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