China vs Vietnam
China vs Vietnam: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 98.6% of GDP in China and 30.5% of GDP in Vietnam, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in China, by 68.1 percentage points, or 3.24 times that in Vietnam.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- China has been higher since 2016, when it overtook Vietnam.
- In 2025, China ranked 17 and Vietnam ranked 126 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts China at 122.1% of GDP and Vietnam at 24.5% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | China | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 98.6 | 30.5 |
| 2024 | 90.5 | 31.2 |
| 2023 | 84.1 | 34.3 |
| 2022 | 77.3 | 34.9 |
| 2021 | 72.1 | 39.2 |
| 2020 | 70.6 | 41.3 |
| 2019 | 59.9 | 41 |
| 2018 | 55.7 | 43.8 |
| 2017 | 53.7 | 46.6 |
| 2016 | 50 | 47.9 |
| 2015 | 40.9 | 46.1 |
| 2014 | 39.4 | 43.4 |
| 2013 | 36.6 | 41.4 |
| 2012 | 33.9 | 38.3 |
| 2011 | 33 | 36.2 |
| 2010 | 33.1 | 37.3 |
| 2009 | 33.9 | 36.2 |
| 2008 | 26.6 | 31.1 |
| 2007 | 28.8 | 32.2 |
| 2006 | 25.2 | 30.3 |
| 2005 | 26 | 28.7 |
| 2004 | 25.9 | 29.4 |
| 2003 | 26.4 | 29.8 |
| 2002 | 25.5 | 27.7 |
| 2001 | 24.2 | 25.4 |
| 2000 | 22.6 | 24.8 |
| 1999 | 21.6 | – |
| 1998 | 20.4 | – |
| 1997 | 20.4 | – |
| 1996 | 21.2 | – |
| 1995 | 21.4 | – |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | China | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 104.4 | 28.3 |
| 2027 | 109.1 | 26.2 |
| 2028 | 113.2 | 25.3 |
| 2029 | 116.4 | 24.6 |
| 2030 | 119.5 | 24.4 |
| 2031 | 122.1 | 24.5 |
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 Vietnam
Health
- Life expectancyChina: 78 years in 2023Vietnam: 74.6 years in 2023
- Child mortalityChina: 0.6 per 100 live births in 2024Vietnam: 1.7 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityChina: 5.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023Vietnam: 15.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionChina: 3.31% in 2017Vietnam: 2.88% in 2017
- Suicide rateChina: 7.2 per 100,000 people in 2017Vietnam: 7.4 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationChina: 1.42 billion people in 2023Vietnam: 100 million people in 2023
- Population growthChina: -0.24% a year in 2023Vietnam: 0.64% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateChina: 1 births per woman in 2023Vietnam: 1.91 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationChina: 66.3% in 2025Vietnam: 38.8% in 2025
- Median ageChina: 39.1 years in 2023Vietnam: 32.4 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overChina: 14.3% in 2023Vietnam: 8.6% in 2023
- Net migration rateChina: -0.4 per 1,000 people in 2023Vietnam: -0.8 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingChina: 1.73% of GDP in 2025Vietnam: 2.15% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsChina: $335B in 2025Vietnam: $10.9B in 2025
- Military spending per personChina: $237 in 2025Vietnam: $104 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingChina: 5.1% of government spending in 2025Vietnam: 9.9% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelChina: 2.54 million people in 2020Vietnam: 522,000 people in 2020
- National powerChina: 23.41% of world capability in 2022Vietnam: 1.11% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersChina: 0.33% of the labour force in 2020Vietnam: 0.95% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsChina: 207 million TIV in 2025Vietnam: 177 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsChina: 880 million TIV in 2025Vietnam: 10 million TIV in 2018