Debt per capita by country in 2026: US government debt comes to $120,729 per person and the UK's to $62,331 as Britain heads into its Budget.

Which country has the highest national debt per person?

Among the 187 economies in the IMF's October 2026 outlook, Singapore tops the debt per capita by country table at $181,570 per person, followed by the United States at $120,729. Japan ranks third at $70,587, Canada fourth at $69,482, Italy fifth at $63,277, the UK sixth at $62,331 and France seventh at $60,966. Germany, the seventh G7 member, comes in at $42,442.

The comparison looks different when measured against the size of each economy. Japan has the highest debt-to-GDP ratio of the 25 countries charted, at 199.4%, but its lower GDP per person in dollar terms ($35,400) places it third in national debt per person rather than first. Sudan carries a debt-to-GDP ratio of 334.4%, yet owes only $1,995 per person because its GDP per person is just $597. These contrasts show why debt per person by country and debt-to-GDP rank countries very differently.

Is US government debt worse than other countries?

US government debt per person, at $120,729, is the highest of any large economy and nearly double the UK's $62,331, but whether that makes it worse depends on how sustainability is measured. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said at the IMF's annual meetings in Bangkok that economic growth alone would not be enough to address the country's more than $40 trillion in national debt, and that the budget deficit must also come down.^{1, 5}

The US Treasury pushed back. David Zervos, counselor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, questioned the IMF's forecasting record, pointing to predictions before the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and the 1997 Asian financial crisis.¹ Bessent himself has argued that consistent 3% growth, fuelled partly by AI, can be enough to manage the debt.¹ Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel has said that is probably not plausible, and that real GDP growth would need to reach 5% to 6% to stabilise the trajectory.¹

Why do wealthy countries carry so much more debt per person?

Wealthy countries carry far more national debt per person because they have both the capacity and the history of borrowing at scale. High GDP per person means governments can service large debts through tax revenues, and deep financial markets make it easier to sell bonds at lower yields. The IMF's figures show this clearly: the $15,180 average debt per person across all 187 economies is pulled up sharply by the richest nations, while the median sits at just $4,819.

France illustrates how the pattern can become entrenched. Government spending in France is equivalent to about 57% of GDP, second only to Finland among OECD countries, and public pensions alone amount to 14% of GDP.³ BSI Economics president Victor Lequillerier told Al Jazeera that in the post-pandemic period most European economies normalised their fiscal positions, but France failed to do so, with "public spending growth persistently overwhelming revenue dynamics."³ The gross-versus-net distinction also matters: Norway, despite a high gross debt figure, holds more financial assets than it owes, giving it a net debt of minus 152.5% of GDP, while Canada's net debt is 9.3% of GDP against a gross 115.6%.

What do economists say about high debt levels going into a budget?

Economists broadly agree that high debt levels heading into a budget raise the stakes for fiscal decisions, but they differ on how urgent the risk is. Rodrigo Valdes, director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department, said that "in major advanced economies, the effect of fiscal indiscipline does not stop at the border. It travels to the rest of the world."⁵

For France specifically, Antonio Fatas, a professor of economics at INSEAD, told Al Jazeera that the French numbers are not dramatically worse than peers, but that the political situation means the government does not have an easy path to a budget that makes sense from a debt sustainability point of view, and that is why markets are worried.³ Victor Lequillerier of BSI Economics added that "the sustainability of sovereign debt is rarely determined by its absolute level alone" and depends more on its trajectory, structure and broader economic context.³ For the US, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has warned that net interest payments already made up about 15% of federal spending in fiscal 2026, and about 20% of revenue.¹

How might rising government debt affect borrowing costs and growth?

Rising government debt can push borrowing costs higher, and higher borrowing costs can in turn force governments to borrow more, creating a self-reinforcing loop. Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, warned after the 10-year Treasury yield crossed 5% that "if interest begets debt, and debt begets interest, eventually debt will spin out of control," calling a fiscal crisis "a distinct possibility."⁴ The CRFB has said the US is entering a debt spiral, which could lead to exploding unemployment, crashing asset values, surging inflation and sharp tax increases or spending cuts.²

Not all analysts see a crisis as imminent. TD Securities strategists told CNBC that "a fiscal apocalypse is not upon us just yet," noting that the weighted-average maturity of US debt is about 5.9 years, so higher rates feed through gradually, and that nominal GDP growth has remained above the cost of borrowing for now.⁴ Rockefeller International Chairman Ruchir Sharma has suggested the risk sharpens if the 10-year yield decisively exceeds 5%, signalling a new era of tighter money in which large debt-funded projects become harder to finance.² For France, Al Jazeera reported that yields on French bonds have risen to their highest levels in nearly a quarter of a century, swallowing a growing share of tax revenues that could otherwise go to services such as education and healthcare.³