Tanzania vs United Arab Emirates: Government debt

Government debt: 47.8% of GDP in Tanzania in 2023 and 33.9% of GDP in United Arab Emirates in 2025, by IMF estimates. In 2023 the value was higher in Tanzania, by 15.9 percentage points, or 1.5 times that in United Arab Emirates.

Watch it change on the map

% of GDP · IMF

TanzaniaUnited Arab EmiratesIMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026)

What the numbers say

Tanzania has been higher in every year both have figures for since 2001.
The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Tanzania at 41.4% of GDP and United Arab Emirates at 26.1% of GDP in 2031.

Every year

% of GDP · IMF

Year	Tanzania	United Arab Emirates
2025	49.8	33.9
2024	50	33.2
2023	47.8	31.9
2022	44.9	31.5
2021	43.4	35.7
2020	41.3	30.1
2019	40.4	25.8
2018	42	20.7
2017	40.1	21.2
2016	39.8	18.6
2015	39.5	15.6
2014	36.4	13.5
2013	32.7	15.3
2012	30.1	20.2
2011	28.4	20.4
2010	27.6	18.3
2009	23.9	21.1
2008	21.6	8.9
2007	23.8	8.9
2006	34.5	5.1
2005	46.1	4.5
2004	44.5	4.1
2003	44.4	3.3
2002	47.4	3.4
2001	50.8	2.7
2000	–	3.1
1999	–	4.7

12.3Projected

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

Year	Tanzania	United Arab Emirates
2026	48.1	32.8
2027	46.6	30.8
2028	45.2	29
2029	43.9	27.4
2030	42.9	27
2031	41.4	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