Visual Capitalist's Niccolo Conte has created a new data visualization ranking nations according to their debt-to-GDP ratios. However, instead of only looking at their government debt as many others analysts have done, he's also broken out rankings for household and non-financial corporate debts as well for 43 of the world's biggest national economies.
Here's his summary of the top ranked nation for each category:
Debt can sit on very different parts of an economy’s balance sheet. In Japan, the largest burden sits with the government. In Switzerland, households stand out. And in Luxembourg, corporate borrowing towers over the size of the economy.
Here's the chart:
Conte describes what he found in creating the rankings:
Government debt is concentrated in Southern Europe and East Asia, with Greece (146.5%), Italy (137.1%), France (116.0%), Spain (100.7%), and Portugal (89.7%) all in the top 15 alongside Japan and Singapore (166.2%)....
Household debt is concentrated among wealthy economies with expensive housing and deep mortgage markets, led by Switzerland, Australia (114.0%), Canada (100.6%), the Netherlands (93.8%), and New Zealand (91.1%).
Corporate debt is especially high in Northern Europe and economies that host multinational financing structures. Luxembourg, Hong Kong, and Singapore (127.2%) all rank among the leaders.
Only three economies rank in the top 10 of more than one column: Canada, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Canada’s government (100.2%), households (100.6%), and companies (118.3%) each owe roughly a year of GDP, which is why the country ranks sixth on combined debt without leading any single category.
Conte finds unique conditions apply for both Singapore and Switzerland, which are near or are at the top of the government and household debt-to-GDP categories:
Singapore’s second-place government figure is not what it looks like. By law, the proceeds of Singapore Government Securities cannot be spent on the budget. Most are issued to the national pension fund and invested, leaving the state with more assets than debt and a AAA credit rating....
Switzerland’s position at the top of the household ranking is particularly notable because the country has one of Europe’s lowest homeownership rates.
For decades, Swiss tax law taxed homeowners on the imputed rental value of their homes while allowing them to deduct mortgage interest, which rewarded keeping a mortgage rather than paying it down. Voters abolished that system in September 2025, with the change taking effect no earlier than 2028.
How many other countries have similarly strange and perverse incentives for their households and corporations to rack up debt?
Reference
Nicholas Conte. Ranked: Countries With the Highest Debt-to-GDP Ratios. [Online article, Infographic]. Visual Capitalist. 8 September 2026.
Labels: data visualization, national debt
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