Experts Club information and analytical center presented a video analysis of the dynamics of public debt of the countries of the world over the past six decades, prepared on the basis of a comparative table of public debt volumes in dollar equivalent for the years 1960–2025.
According to the data presented, the total amount of public debt of the countries included in the study increased from about $381 billion in 1960 to approximately $89.7 trillion in 2025. Thus, during the period covered by the analysis, the nominal volume of debt obligations in the world increased more than 200 times.
The Experts Club notes that the video format makes it possible to clearly show not only the absolute growth of debt, but also the change in the structure of the global debt burden between the world's leading economies. If in 1960, the largest amount of public debt was mainly attributed to the USA and several large economies of Western Europe, then in the 21st century, the group of largest debtors also included Asian economies and countries with high rates of economic growth.
"Over the past 60 years, public debt has turned from a tool for financing individual budgetary needs into one of the key elements of the global economic system. Today, it is not only about the amount of borrowing, but about the ability of states to manage the cost of debt, its term structure and impact on economic growth," said the founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center, Candidate of Economic Sciences Maksym Urakin.
According to the Experts Club, in 2025 the United States had the largest amount of public debt among the countries of the world — about $38.27 trillion. Japan was in second place - $9.83 trillion, followed by Great Britain - $4.09 trillion, France - $3.92 trillion, Italy - $3.48 trillion, India - $3.36 trillion and Germany - $3.23 trillion. included Canada — $2.60 trillion, Brazil — $2.06 trillion, and Spain — $1.73 trillion. In total, the ten largest debtors accounted for about 81% of the total debt of the countries.
The largest share in the global debt array, according to calculations, was the USA — approximately 42.7%. The share of Japan was about 11%. The five largest countries in terms of the absolute amount of debt concentrated more than 66% of the total indicator.
The dynamics of recent years indicate a further acceleration of the debt burden in the largest economies. In particular, in 2024-2025, the national debt of the United States increased by approximately $2.91 trillion, Japan — by $362 billion, Great Britain — by $260 billion, France — by $250 billion, India — by $230 billion.
At the same time, the Experts Club draws attention to the fact that the given indicators reflect the absolute amount of debt in US dollars, and not the debt in relation to GDP, population or budget revenues. Therefore, the absolute rating shows the scale of debt obligations, but does not always directly characterize the debt sustainability of a country.
"The absolute size of the public debt cannot automatically be interpreted as a sign of financial weakness. For large economies, the depth of the domestic financial market, confidence in the national currency, the structure of creditors and the ability of the economy to service obligations without losing macro-financial stability are important. That is why the comparison of the state debt should combine absolute indicators with the analysis of the debt to GDP, budget revenues and the cost of its maintenance," Urakin emphasized.
As for Ukraine, according to the available data, the state debt of Ukraine in 2000 was about $16.3 billion, in 2010 - $51.1 billion, in 2020 - $87.6 billion, in 2024 - $209.8 billion, and in 2025 - about $227.7 billion. In terms of the absolute amount of debt in 2025, Ukraine was in the fourth ten countries of the world among the countries presented in the study.
The Experts Club emphasizes that the long-term visualization of debt indicators allows for a better assessment of how the world's financial architecture changed after the 1960s, in particular after the oil crises, the period of high inflation, the global financial crisis of 2008, the COVID-19 pandemic and new stages of fiscal stimulus in leading economies.
Analysts of the center point out that the further assessment of debt dynamics should be carried out taking into account not only absolute volumes, but also the debt-to-GDP ratio, the cost of servicing debt, the currency structure of liabilities, the share of internal and external borrowing, as well as the ability of the economy to generate long-term income to service debt load.
