The volume of global public debt in 2025 reached 110.9 trillion dollars. The five leaders – the United States, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and France – accumulate two-thirds of the world’s public debt, which totals $74.8 trillion.
The U.S. still holds the top spot with $38.3 trillion in government debt, accounting for just over a third of the global debt mass. They are followed by China and Japan with debt of $18.7 trillion and $9.8 trillion, respectively. This means that the top three countries together account for 60% of global debt.
Next come the UK, France and Italy with government debt of $4.1 trillion, $3.9 trillion and $3.5 trillion respectively. These developed economies traditionally have a high debt burden both in absolute terms and relative to their GDP, which is caused by large-scale fiscal programs and aging populations.
While U.S. government debt is more than double that of China, its annual increase in 2025 was not as large in percentage terms. Despite the smaller absolute figure, China’s debt grew faster in percentage terms – its annual growth rate was 13.6% compared to 8.4% in the US.
Moldova ranks 126th out of 170 countries in terms of debt to GDP. Moldova’s public debt is 37% of GDP. This is significantly lower than many countries and is considered an acceptable indicator of debt burden on the economy by international standards. In the EU as a whole, the debt level is more than 80% of gross domestic production.
