Wherever you’re from, chances are your government owes a whole lot of money on your behalf. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reckons global public debt now exceeds $100 trillion (£79tn), or about 93% of the world’s economic output – and even thinks this figure will be close to 100% of global GDP by the end of this decade. 

What’s more, servicing that debt is getting more expensive. After years of artificially low interest rates, borrowing costs are returning to normal levels and bond yields – the rates governments must offer their creditors – are often rising too. Debts can devour a major slice of national income and sometimes cost more than the entire budgets of departments such as education. 

Read on to discover how much debt repayments are costing 25 countries around the world, ranked from the lowest burden to the highest.

Figures are from the 2024 Debt Data Portal (DDP) compiled by UK charity Debt Justice. All dollar amounts in US dollars.