World Bank Group · External Debt Stocks (% of GNI)
External debt by country
How much does a country owe abroad compared with its income?
Of the 110 countries compared in 2024, Iran had the lowest reading, 2.21%, and Mozambique had the highest reading, 350.57%. In the middle country the figure was 43.94%. Among the 82 countries measured in every edition since 1981, the middle one moved from 37.66% to 41.83%.
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Part ofGovernance & InstitutionsEconomy & InnovationMoney & Public Finance
External debt · 2024
Context statistic
Lowest of 110Iran
2.21%012024 · position · derived
Who leads
The three countries at the lowest end of 110 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: User:Gire 3pich2005 , derived: User:Nastoshka · CC0, greyscale
2Photo: Daggett.fr derivative work: JamesA · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
3Photo: Santiagockn · CC0, greyscale
Highest in 2024
Mozambique350.57%
Mongolia181.86%
Senegal150.69%
Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
02Every measured country
External debt on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a lower value — the better end.
- 71.39–350.57%
- 48.76–70.31%
- 39.16–47.32%
- 27.51–39.06%
- 2.21–26.26%
- No reading in 2024 (11 measured in an earlier edition)
- Asia
36.51%
the middle country, of 28 measured · 52 members
Iran2.21%Mongolia181.86%Lowest and highest reading in Asia.
- Oceania
39.16%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 21 members
Solomon Islands33.83%
Fiji71.39%Lowest and highest reading in Oceania.
- Africa
44.72%
the middle country, of 47 measured · 55 members
Algeria2.67%Mozambique350.57%Lowest and highest reading in Africa.
- Americas
46.04%
the middle country, of 21 measured · 48 members
Haiti3.74%
Nicaragua82.81%Lowest and highest reading in Americas.
- Europe
57.15%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 49 members
Kosovo38.61%
Montenegro108.64%Lowest and highest reading in Europe.
- Every region
17 sub-regions, lowest middle country first
- Southern Asia
23.27%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Iran2.21%
Maldives75.56%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Asia.
- South-eastern Asia
29.91%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 11 members
Myanmar15.28%
Laos115.40%Lowest and highest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Middle Africa
35.90%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 9 members
Chad16.40%
Angola79.57%Lowest and highest reading in Middle Africa.
- South America
36.64%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 12 members
Guyana22.64%
Paraguay69.74%Lowest and highest reading in South America.
- Eastern Africa
43.17%
the middle country, of 14 measured · 19 members
Somalia14.92%Mozambique350.57%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Central America
43.93%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 8 members
Guatemala24.24%Nicaragua82.81%Lowest and highest reading in Central America.
- Northern Africa
44.72%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 6 members
Algeria2.67%
Tunisia77.70%Lowest and highest reading in Northern Africa.
- Western Africa
48.80%
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Guinea23.20%Senegal150.69%Lowest and highest reading in Western Africa.
- Western Asia
52.69%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 19 members
Iraq6.23%
Jordan90.13%Lowest and highest reading in Western Asia.
- Southern Europe
55.70%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 17 members
Kosovo38.61%Montenegro108.64%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Europe.
- Central Asia
60.51%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Turkmenistan5.22%
Kyrgyzstan69.24%Lowest and highest reading in Central Asia.
- Caribbean
68.59%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 24 members
Haiti3.74%
Dominica82.36%Lowest and highest reading in Caribbean.
- Eastern Asia
2 of 8 measured — too few for a middle: China, Mongolia.
China13.00%Mongolia181.86%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Eastern Europe
3 of 10 measured — too few for a middle: Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine.
Belarus46.15%
Ukraine101.27%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Melanesia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.
Solomon Islands33.83%Fiji71.39%Lowest and highest reading in Melanesia.
- Polynesia
1 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Samoa.
Samoa37.56%Lowest and highest reading in Polynesia.
- Southern Africa
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, South Africa.
Botswana11.93%
Lesotho65.35%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Africa.
03The whole field at once
The spread
110 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 43.94%; a quarter are above 66.50%, and a quarter below 31.17%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 121 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first — position 1 is the highest value, the way World Bank Group’s own tables read. “=” marks a position shared with another country. World Bank Group ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. This is not a world table. International Debt Statistics reports on low- and middle-income countries only, so a high-income country is absent because the Bank does not report on it, not because it owes nothing — several of the world’s largest external debtors will never appear here.
Showing 25 of 121 countries
Values for 2024. The change column compares 2024 with 2023 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
051981–2024 · 44 reference years
Over time
Each point is one reference year from 1981.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 82 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 110 | 43.94% | 31.17% – 66.50% | 41.83% |
| 2023 | 116 | 45.27% | 30.96% – 67.90% | 42.85% |
| 2022 | 119 | 46.08% | 30.44% – 67.27% | 43.09% |
| 2021 | 119 | 52.14% | 34.80% – 68.86% | 47.72% |
| 2020 | 119 | 53.30% | 34.54% – 77.56% | 50.34% |
| 2019 | 119 | 43.84% | 29.77% – 66.81% | 41.00% |
| 2018 | 120 | 41.16% | 28.53% – 67.72% | 39.01% |
| 2017 | 120 | 40.34% | 26.71% – 72.05% | 36.81% |
| 2016 | 120 | 40.46% | 24.33% – 68.81% | 37.00% |
| 2015 | 120 | 38.98% | 23.51% – 65.74% | 36.54% |
| 2014 | 118 | 35.03% | 22.39% – 59.31% | 33.04% |
| 2013 | 118 | 33.54% | 21.47% – 60.01% | 30.51% |
| 2012 | 118 | 31.59% | 21.04% – 59.52% | 28.03% |
| 2011 | 118 | 29.61% | 21.70% – 55.84% | 27.19% |
| 2010 | 118 | 31.13% | 23.10% – 57.45% | 29.51% |
| 2009 | 118 | 34.43% | 23.24% – 60.10% | 32.04% |
| 2008 | 118 | 29.78% | 20.23% – 54.74% | 29.29% |
| 2007 | 115 | 34.20% | 22.73% – 58.25% | 34.42% |
| 2006 | 115 | 37.34% | 22.69% – 62.23% | 37.71% |
| 2005 | 113 | 46.88% | 32.87% – 69.53% | 48.31% |
| 2004 | 113 | 54.69% | 38.20% – 75.22% | 56.52% |
| 2003 | 113 | 60.47% | 41.07% – 84.69% | 62.52% |
| 2002 | 113 | 63.83% | 43.78% – 84.04% | 64.00% |
| 2001 | 113 | 60.45% | 42.49% – 81.84% | 61.60% |
| 2000 | 113 | 58.09% | 41.01% – 93.49% | 61.28% |
| 1999 | 113 | 60.21% | 40.45% – 95.67% | 60.47% |
| 1998 | 112 | 58.85% | 35.27% – 96.05% | 60.01% |
| 1997 | 112 | 54.33% | 31.81% – 90.35% | 57.08% |
| 1996 | 111 | 56.02% | 31.68% – 87.31% | 58.04% |
| 1995 | 111 | 54.85% | 31.58% – 97.42% | 62.96% |
| 1994 | 111 | 58.72% | 30.28% – 109.39% | 65.83% |
| 1993 | 109 | 52.27% | 30.03% – 96.26% | 58.26% |
| 1992 | 103 | 55.82% | 31.59% – 98.07% | 58.14% |
| 1991 | 95 | 58.79% | 38.61% – 90.31% | 59.02% |
| 1990 | 92 | 56.08% | 39.93% – 86.15% | 56.08% |
| 1989 | 90 | 60.93% | 37.42% – 93.66% | 60.93% |
| 1988 | 87 | 61.80% | 37.54% – 92.86% | 61.81% |
| 1987 | 87 | 67.11% | 40.10% – 92.29% | 67.80% |
| 1986 | 87 | 57.15% | 38.30% – 78.28% | 60.13% |
| 1985 | 87 | 54.65% | 36.25% – 87.14% | 57.85% |
| 1984 | 86 | 50.73% | 28.78% – 71.40% | 50.99% |
| 1983 | 85 | 47.01% | 29.55% – 67.33% | 47.30% |
| 1982 | 85 | 41.25% | 26.21% – 55.48% | 41.51% |
| 1981 | 85 | 36.93% | 22.57% – 51.05% | 37.66% |
062023 → 2024
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after
Sri Lanka74.59% → 58.89% · 22nd → 36th−15.70- Somalia28.32% → 14.92% · 93rd → 103rd−13.40
Sudan58.00% → 45.40% · 39th → 51st−12.60- Tunisia90.25% → 77.70% · 14th → 18th−12.55
Papua New Guinea54.29% → 41.89% · 44th → 59th−12.40
110 countries were measured in both 2023 and 2024. The field changed from 116 to 110 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
External debt in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
1,343.27%
External debt stocks (% of GNI)
Lowest reading on record
0.24%
External debt stocks (% of GNI)
Biggest improvement between editions
−513.88
879.96% → 366.08%
Biggest decline between editions
+843.86
389.24% → 1,233.10%
Most improved since first measured
−298.21
327.06% → 28.85%
At the top most often
26 of 44
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About external debt
External debt stocks measure everything a country owes abroad against a year of its national income. The World Bank’s International Debt Statistics is the authoritative source, and the ratio — rather than the dollar total — is what makes a small borrower comparable with a large one.
What the number is: External debt stocks (% of GNI).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Governance & Institutions and Economy & Innovation and Money & Public Finance, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Governance & InstitutionsEconomy & InnovationMoney & Public FinanceWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where external debt is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Interest Payments on External DebtWorld Bank Group · 110 countries in commonρ 0.77
- Services ExportsUNCTAD · 101 countries in commonρ 0.44
- Trade (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 82 countries in commonρ 0.43
Moves against
Where external debt is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Social Institutions and Gender IndexKeyOECD · 87 countries in commonρ −0.41
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 308 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
More from World Bank Group
11Questions
External debt: questions and answers
Which country has the lowest external debt?
Iran, at 2.21%, among the 110 countries compared in 2024.
Which country has the highest external debt?
Mozambique, at 350.57%, among the 110 countries compared in 2024.
How many countries does the External Debt Stocks (% of GNI) cover?
110 in 2024, and 121 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 85 to 120 between editions.
What is the world average external debt?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 110 compared in 2024, the figure was 43.94%.
Is this World Bank Group’s own ranking?
No. World Bank Group publishes the values but ranks nobody; the position on this page is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values, and equal values share a position.
How often is the External Debt Stocks (% of GNI) published?
This site holds 44 reference years, 1981–2024, all recalculated in World Bank Group’s 2026 report on one method — not 44 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From World Bank Group, under CC BY 4.0. Pulled from the World Bank’s indicator API (DT.DOD.DECT.GN.ZS). The ratio is used rather than the headline dollar stock, because ranking countries by dollars owed is close to ranking them by size. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
External Debt Stocks (% of GNI) — World Bank Group
Pulled from the World Bank’s indicator API (DT.DOD.DECT.GN.ZS). The ratio is used rather than the headline dollar stock, because ranking countries by dollars owed is close to ranking them by size.
Newest edition
Report year 2024Data year 2024
Cite the source as: World Bank. International Debt Statistics. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-09-06.
How this page reads the numbers
- World Bank Group ranks nobody on this measure. The position is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values; equal values share a position.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Iran — User:Gire 3pich2005 , derived: User:Nastoshka, CC0
- Algeria — Daggett.fr derivative work: JamesA, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Haiti — Santiagockn, CC0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). External debt by country: External Debt Stocks (% of GNI), data from World Bank Group. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/external-debt