# Countries with the Most Government Debt

The infographic reproduces IMF World Economic Outlook (April 2026) projections as published by Visual Capitalist/Voronoi in its 'Ranked: Countries With the Most Government Debt in 2026' series. Every high-priority data point tested — Japan at 204% of GDP (highest ratio), Singapore 172%, Sudan 169%, Bahrain 152%, Italy 138%, Greece 137%, the US at ~126%, France ~118%, Canada ~111%, Belgium ~109% — matches independent reporting of the same IMF dataset. The nominal-value column (US $40.7T, China $22.3T, Japan ~$9.0T, Germany $3.5T) is likewise corroborated. The attribution (IMF WEO April 2026; Visual Capitalist/Voronoi) is genuine and the April 2026 WEO was released on 14 April 2026. The single most important caveat is interpretive rather than factual: the figures are 'general government gross debt', which materially overstates the fiscal position of countries such as Singapore, whose government holds assets far exceeding its liabilities and carries no net debt. Users should read these as gross-debt projections, not measures of fiscal distress or creditworthiness.

What checked out (7)

• The data source is the IMF World Economic Outlook (April 2026); the April 2026 WEO was released on 14 April 2026.
• Japan has the world's highest general government debt-to-GDP ratio in 2026 at 204% (IMF ~204.4%).
• The debt-to-GDP top ranks (Japan 204%, Singapore 172%, Sudan 169%, Bahrain 152%, Italy 138%, Greece 137%, US ~126%, France ~118%) match IMF/secondary reporting.
• US ~125.8%, France 118.4%, Canada 110.7% and Belgium 109.2% debt-to-GDP figures match reported IMF projections (chart rounds to 126/118/111/109).
• The US is projected to hold the largest nominal government debt stock at $40.7 trillion (~$40.74T) in 2026, exceeding the combined debt of China, Japan, the UK and France.
• Nominal-value ranking: China second at ~$22.3T, Japan ~$8.95T (chart '$9.0T'), and Germany $3.5T — less than France, Italy and the UK.
• The infographic is a genuine Visual Capitalist / Voronoi product ('Ranked: Countries With the Most Government Debt in 2026').

• Exact values for the smaller/lower-profile entries not individually checked against the IMF database (e.g., Senegal 132%, Maldives 129%, Bhutan 120%, St. Vincent 120%, Dominica 98%, Cabo Verde 96%, Rep. of the Congo 91%, Barbados 90%, Suriname 87%, Gabon 86%). These are plausible and consistent with the same dataset but were not directly primary-source-verified in this pass.
• Exact nominal values in the lower half of the right column (e.g., Poland $745B, Netherlands/Indonesia $639B, Austria $512B, Russia $507B, Israel $502B, Argentina $485B, Saudi Arabia $446B, Switzerland $442B, Türkiye $418B, Thailand $387B, South Africa $379B, Egypt $374B) were not individually confirmed.
• Whether the exact figures reflect the April 2026 WEO first release or a subsequently revised data snapshot (minor month-to-month database revisions are possible).

Confidence

High — All high-priority, high-salience data points were confirmed against a primary source (IMF WEO April 2026 database/release) and multiple reputable secondary sources reproducing the identical figures, with the graphic's own attribution matching the genuine Visual Capitalist/Voronoi publication. Confidence is 'High' rather than 'Very High' because a subset of low-profile line-items was not individually primary-verified, and 2026 values are projections subject to revision. The principal caveat is interpretive (gross vs net debt), not a factual error.

Search journal

IMF World Economic Outlook April 2026 release date schedule

• https://mediacenter.imf.org/news/imf---3q-world-economic-outlook/s/ec9072f8-6904-4e8a-8d1b-a87030e587cc
• https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.RES:WEO
• https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/datasets/WEO

Visual Capitalist Voronoi countries most government debt 2026 Japan Singapore

• https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-countries-with-most-government-debt-in-2026/
• https://www.visualcapitalist.com/state-of-world-debt-in-2025/
• https://www.voronoiapp.com/debt/Visualizing-Government-Debt-Around-the-World-4862

Japan debt to GDP 2026 204% IMF

• https://www.mappr.co/public-debt-by-country/
• https://www.ebc.com/forex/highest-debt-to-gdp-ratio-by-country
• https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/cr/2026/english/1jpnea2026001.pdf

Singapore net debt government no debt IMF gross debt

• https://www.factually.gov.sg/corrections-and-clarifications/the-singapore-government-has-no-net-debt-we-hav...
• https://www.silverbullion.com.sg/Articles/Detail/Why-Singapores-Debt-is-Often-Misunderstood/10629

US general government gross debt 2026 IMF trillion

• https://www.mappr.co/public-debt-by-country/
• https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2026/04/01/pr-26102-usa-imf-executive-board-concludes-2026-article-iv-consult
• https://www.crfb.org/blogs/debt-surpasses-size-economy

IMF WEO 2026 US 126% France 118% Canada 111% Belgium 109% debt GDP

• https://www.businesstoday.in/world/us/story/countries-with-the-most-government-debt-in-2026-where-india-sta...
• https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/weo/2026/april/english/tablea.pdf

Ranked Countries With the Most Government Debt in 2026 Visual Capitalist China India Germany

• https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-countries-with-most-government-debt-in-2026/
• https://www.businesstoday.in/world/us/story/countries-with-the-most-government-debt-in-2026-where-india-sta...

Article metrics

Emotion 4% · Reading grade 8.5 · 205 words