South Africa vs United Arab Emirates: Government debt

Government debt: 76% of GDP in South Africa in 2024 and 33.9% of GDP in United Arab Emirates in 2025, by IMF estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in South Africa, by 42.7 percentage points, or 2.29 times that in United Arab Emirates.

Watch it change on the map

% of GDP · IMF

South AfricaUnited Arab EmiratesIMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026)

What the numbers say

South Africa has been higher in every year both have figures for since 2000.
The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts South Africa at 79.8% of GDP and United Arab Emirates at 26.1% of GDP in 2031.

Every year

% of GDP · IMF

Year	South Africa	United Arab Emirates
2025	78.4	33.9
2024	76	33.2
2023	73.2	31.9
2022	70.7	31.5
2021	68.8	35.7
2020	68.9	30.1
2019	56.1	25.8
2018	51.5	20.7
2017	48.6	21.2
2016	47.1	18.6
2015	45.2	15.6
2014	43.3	13.5
2013	40.4	15.3
2012	37.4	20.2
2011	34.7	20.4
2010	31.2	18.3
2009	27	21.1
2008	24.1	8.9
2007	24.3	8.9
2006	28	5.1
2005	29.6	4.5
2004	30.7	4.1
2003	31.5	3.3
2002	31.8	3.4
2001	38.1	2.7
2000	37.9	3.1
1999	–	4.7

12.3Projected

IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031

Year	South Africa	United Arab Emirates
2026	78	32.8
2027	78.1	30.8
2028	78.8	29
2029	79.5	27.4
2030	79.7	27
2031	79.8	26.1

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