Japan's Debt to GDP Ratio
A measure of a country's public debt as a percentage of its gross domestic product. Japan's is extremely high at 263%, which severely limits its ability to raise interest rates without making its debt servicing costs unsustainable.
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8/26/2025, 6:14:06 AM
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8/26/2025, 6:16:40 AM
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8/26/2025, 6:16:40 AM
Summary
Japan's Debt to GDP Ratio is the highest in the world, estimated at 263% of GDP as of January 2025, with 43.3% of this debt held by the Bank of Japan. This significant debt burden, alongside an aging population, contributes to Japan's precarious economic state. The fragility of this situation was recently underscored by the unraveling of the Yen Carry Trade, an event triggered by the Bank of Japan's attempt to increase interest rates to combat inflation. This incident also highlighted broader concerns about global financial system fragility due to high leverage and algorithmic trading by hedge funds, and occurred amidst growing global economic uncertainties, including the potential for a US recession and Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
Global Ranking
Highest in the world
Contributing Factor
Aging Population in Japan
Total Debt (2025 estimate)
Approximately 8.84 trillion US dollars (1.35 quadrillion yen)
Portion held by Bank of Japan
43.3%
Current Debt to GDP Ratio (2024)
236.70% of GDP
Current Debt to GDP Ratio (2025 estimate)
263% of GDP
Timeline
- The Bank of Japan began encouraging economic growth through the non-traditional policy of quantitative easing. (Source: Wikipedia)
2000s
- The Great Recession contributed to the continued rise in Japan's public debt. (Source: Wikipedia)
2008
- Japanese public debt exceeded one quadrillion yen (US$10.46 trillion), reaching approximately twice the country's annual gross domestic product and becoming the largest debt ratio of any nation. (Source: Wikipedia)
2013
- Japan recorded a Government Debt to GDP ratio of 236.70 percent. (Source: Trading Economics)
2024
- Japan's government debt is estimated to be approximately 8.84 trillion US dollars (1.35 quadrillion yen), or 263% of GDP. (Source: Wikipedia)
2025-01
- The Bank of Japan's attempt to increase interest rates to combat inflation triggered the unraveling of the Yen Carry Trade, highlighting the fragility of the global financial system and Japan's precarious economic state. (Source: Document 6f09ea2d-8820-4118-bec1-b3e6e76d385c)
Recent
Web Search Results
- Japan General Government Gross Debt to GDP - Trading Economics
Japan recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 236.70 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024.
- National debt of Japan - Wikipedia
Donate Create account Log in [x] Personal tools Donate Create account Log in Pages for logged out editors learn more Contributions Talk [x] Toggle the table of contents Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 Addressing public debt 2 History 3 National bond issuing and economic policyToggle National bond issuing and economic policy subsection 3.1 Direct purchase of government bonds by Bank of Japan 3.1.1 The Public Finance Act 4 See also 5 References 6 External links National debt of Japan [x] 3 languages Français 日本語 Русский Edit links Article Talk [x] English Read Edit View history [x] Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read Edit View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Download QR code Expand all Edit interlanguage links Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikidata item From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Japan national debt to GDP As of January 2025, the Japanese government debt is estimated to be approximately 8.84 trillion US dollars (1.35 quadrillion yen), or 263% of GDP,[1] and is one of the highest among developed nations. [2][3][4][5] 43.3% of this debt is held by the Bank of Japan. [7] In response, the Bank of Japan set out in the early 2000s to encourage economic growth through the non-traditional policy of quantitative easing. [8][9] By 2013, Japanese public debt exceeded one quadrillion yen (US$10.46 trillion), which was about twice the country's annual gross domestic product at that time, and already the largest debt ratio of any nation. [10][11][12][13] During the Lost Decades, Japanese public debt has continued to rise in response to a number of challenges, such as the Great Recession in 2008, and as well as two national crises, including the triple disaster (earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, etc.)
- Gross public debt, percent of GDP - International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Public Finances in Modern History - Gross public debt, percent of GDP IMF Data Mapper Public Finances in Modern History Gross public debt, percent of GDP Gross public debt, percent of GDP map list chart selected no data Country Value Georgia no data Guinea 40.75 Papua New Guinea 52.05 United States 118.73 World no data * United States 118.73 United States United States Selected Country Data Excel file All Country Data Excel file Map.PNG image Chart.PNG image United States Government expenditure, percent of GDP United States United States Public Finances in Modern History Data Send comments and questions about the Public Finances in Modern History database to historicalpubfin@imf.org. Image 4: International Monetary Fund * Data
- Japan Government Debt: % of GDP, 1994 – 2025 | CEIC Data
| Japan (DC)GDP: 95p: DD: Public: Government Consumption (JPY bn) | 23,313.600 Dec 2004 | quarterly | Mar 1980 - Dec 2004 | | Japan (DC)GDP: 95p: Domestic Demand (DD): Investment: Total (JPY bn) | 38,556.100 Dec 2004 | quarterly | Mar 1980 - Dec 2004 | | Japan (DC)GDP: 95p: DD: Public: Domestic Investment: Government (JPY bn) | 7,386.100 Dec 2004 | quarterly | Mar 1980 - Dec 2004 | | Japan (DC)GDP: 95p: Net Exports (JPY bn) | 5,608.800 Dec 2004 | quarterly | Mar 1980 - Dec 2004 | | Japan (DC)GDP: 95p: Exports (JPY bn) | 20,092.800 Dec 2004 | quarterly | Mar 1980 - Dec 2004 |
- World Economic Outlook (April 2025) - General government gross debt
no data New Caledonia no data South Sudan, Republic of 63.2 United States Virgin Islands no data World no data Image 4 World Economic Outlook A Critical Juncture amid Policy Shifts April 2025 Image 5 World Economic Outlook Policy Pivot, Rising Threats October 2024 Image 8 World Economic Outlook A Rocky Recovery April 2023 Image 10 World Economic Outlook War Sets Back the Global Recovery April 2022 Image 11 World Economic Outlook Recovery During a Pandemic October 2021 Image 12 World Economic Outlook Managing Divergent Recoveries April 2021 Image 15 World Economic Outlook The Great Lockdown April 2020 Image 19 World Economic Outlook Growth Slowdown, Precarious Recovery April 2019 Image 20 World Economic Outlook Update A Weakening Global Expansion January 2019 * Data