India vs Japan
India vs Japan: Government debt
Government debt in 2024: 84.8% of GDP in India and 213.6% of GDP in Japan, by IMF estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in Japan, by 128.8 percentage points, or 2.52 times that in India.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Japan has been higher since 1995, when it overtook India.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts India at 75.1% of GDP and Japan at 188.9% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | India | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 84.8 | 213.6 |
| 2023 | 84.8 | 220.1 |
| 2022 | 84.4 | 228 |
| 2021 | 85.5 | 222.6 |
| 2020 | 90.4 | 228.8 |
| 2019 | 76.5 | 206.3 |
| 2018 | 71.6 | 203.7 |
| 2017 | 70.7 | 203.1 |
| 2016 | 69.8 | 202.1 |
| 2015 | 69.7 | 200.1 |
| 2014 | 67.6 | 203.6 |
| 2013 | 68 | 201.2 |
| 2012 | 68.1 | 197.1 |
| 2011 | 68.7 | 190.6 |
| 2010 | 67.7 | 178.6 |
| 2009 | 72.7 | 172.9 |
| 2008 | 74.3 | 153.6 |
| 2007 | 75.4 | 150.4 |
| 2006 | 77.9 | 152.1 |
| 2005 | 82.4 | 153.4 |
| 2004 | 84.9 | 148.8 |
| 2003 | 85.9 | 140.2 |
| 2002 | 84.3 | 134.6 |
| 2001 | 80.1 | 126.8 |
| 2000 | 74.9 | 118.5 |
| 1999 | 71.3 | 113.5 |
| 1998 | 69.3 | 101.6 |
| 1997 | 69 | 91.3 |
| 1996 | 67.1 | 85.3 |
| 1995 | 70.9 | 80.7 |
| 1994 | 74.8 | 73.3 |
| 1993 | 78.3 | 63.2 |
| 1992 | 78.8 | 57.9 |
| 1991 | 76.7 | 54.1 |
| 1990 | – | 54.8 |
| 1989 | – | 56.9 |
| 1988 | – | 62.4 |
| 1987 | – | 65.8 |
| 1986 | – | 64.2 |
| 1985 | – | 59.2 |
| 1984 | – | 56.9 |
| 1983 | – | 55.1 |
| 1982 | – | 50.1 |
| 1981 | – | 45.8 |
| 1980 | – | 41.4 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2025–2031
| Year | India | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 84.3 | 204.8 |
| 2026 | 83.1 | 199.4 |
| 2027 | 81.3 | 196.4 |
| 2028 | 79.9 | 193.8 |
| 2029 | 78.4 | 191.5 |
| 2030 | 77 | 190.1 |
| 2031 | 75.1 | 188.9 |
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.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
India vs Japan
Health
- Life expectancyIndia: 72 years in 2023Japan: 84.7 years in 2023
- Child mortalityIndia: 2.7 per 100 live births in 2024Japan: 0.2 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityIndia: 22.6 per 1,000 live births in 2023Japan: 1.6 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionIndia: 3.53% in 2017Japan: 3.34% in 2017
- Suicide rateIndia: 15.6 per 100,000 people in 2017Japan: 15.7 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationIndia: 1.44 billion people in 2023Japan: 124 million people in 2023
- Population growthIndia: 0.89% a year in 2023Japan: -0.48% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateIndia: 1.98 births per woman in 2023Japan: 1.21 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationIndia: 35.7% in 2025Japan: 92.3% in 2025
- Median ageIndia: 28.1 years in 2023Japan: 49 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overIndia: 6.9% in 2023Japan: 29.6% in 2023
- Net migration rateIndia: -0.7 per 1,000 people in 2023Japan: 1.4 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingIndia: 2.3% of GDP in 2025Japan: 1.41% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsIndia: $93.3B in 2025Japan: $59.5B in 2025
- Military spending per personIndia: $63 in 2025Japan: $504 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingIndia: 8.2% of government spending in 2025Japan: 3.8% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelIndia: 3.07 million people in 2020Japan: 261,000 people in 2020
- National powerIndia: 9.94% of world capability in 2022Japan: 2.47% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersIndia: 0.58% of the labour force in 2020Japan: 0.38% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsIndia: 2.86 billion TIV in 2025Japan: 1.72 billion TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsIndia: 81 million TIV in 2025Japan: 28 million TIV in 2025