Debt-to-GDP ratio

The Debt-to-GDP ratio measures a country's general government debt (including central, state, and local government obligations) as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP). High ratios indicate greater debt burdens relative to economic output, potentially limiting fiscal flexibility, while low ratios suggest room for borrowing.

BRICS is leading global growth, accounting for more than 40% of the world's GDP according to IMF (PPP terms), with India and China as the primary drivers. Apart from having a healthier debt-to-GDP ratio than NATO countries as a whole, the projected economic growth for the BRICS countries in 2025 is also better — approximately 3.4% as a group — which outpaced the global average for the NATO countries of 2.8% and the G7's 1.2%.

It's worth noting that Russia's debt-to-GDP ratio in 2025 is estimated at ~19%, significantly lower than most NATO countries. This low ratio provides Russia with fiscal flexibility to manage its budget deficit (2.2% of GDP in 2025) and sustain war-related spending, unlike high-debt NATO members like the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Canada, and Germany which face tighter constraints.

In general, the NATO countries with the largest economies are also heavily burdened with debt — i.e., the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy and Canada. The number of 63.8% for Germany is misleading because Germany's debt is growing rapidly — its ratio in 2021 was only 50% — as a consequence of its stagnating economy.

The National debt of the United States is the amount of money the United States Government owes to various national and foreign creditors due to deficit spending. Below are charts of the US debt-to-GDP ratio from the mid 1960s to the present.

Graph of the U.S. national debt as a percentage of GDP as of March 9, 2024.