China · 2025 WEO value
99.2%IMF World Economic Outlook · April 2026 ↗
+73.3 percentage points since 2005
Economy · public finance
Government debt
This page uses the IMF World Economic Outlook April 2026 measure of general-government gross debt as a share of GDP. It is a debt-stock ratio—not central-government debt, the annual fiscal deficit, or a sum of every explicit and implicit public liability.
China · 2026 IMF projection
106.9%IMF World Economic Outlook · April 2026 ↗
IMF metadata marks 2026 as the projection year
World · 2026 IMF projection
95.3%IMF World Economic Outlook · April 2026 ↗
IMF WEO world aggregate · not a country rank
China · 2031 IMF projection
126.8%IMF World Economic Outlook · April 2026 ↗
+19.9 pp versus the 2026 projection
The key scope boundary
General-government gross debt is not “all public debt”
IMF WEO GGXWDG_NGDP measures gross debt within the general-government scope. It should not be silently spliced with a central-government series, nor interpreted as all local-government financing-vehicle liabilities, all state-owned-enterprise debt, or implicit future pension obligations. Different scopes can produce different “China debt” ratios.
2026+ = projection
China long-run path
China general-government gross debt, 1995–2031
Values through 2025 are shown as the pre-projection portion of this WEO vintage. From 2026, dashed lines mark IMF projections. Later WEO vintages can revise both history and forecasts.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook · April 2026 ↗ · IMF WEO April 2026 · GGXWDG_NGDP · projections from 2026chinainfigures.com
Long-run international comparison
Debt ratios across major economies, 2001–2025
This chart uses the fixed eight-country cohort in the same WEO vintage and stops before the projection boundary. Japan remains structurally high, while China, the United States and France show notable recent increases.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook · April 2026 ↗ · Fixed eight-country cohort · same WEO April 2026 vintage · through 2025chinainfigures.com
2026 cross-section
IMF-projected 2026 debt ratios across major economies
China is projected at 106.9%, above the IMF world aggregate benchmark of 95.3%. Japan is highest in the fixed eight-country set; World is a benchmark line, not part of the country ranking.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook · April 2026 ↗ · 2026 is an IMF WEO projection; World=95.3% shown as an aggregate benchmarkchinainfigures.com
Twenty-year change
Change in debt ratios, 2005–2025
This is the percentage-point change in the debt ratio—not the growth rate of debt. The same ratio change can have different fiscal implications across GDP scales and interest-rate environments.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook · April 2026 ↗ · change = 2025 debt ratio − 2005 debt ratiochinainfigures.com
Next five years
How IMF projects debt ratios to change, 2026–2031
Positive bars mean the 2031 projected ratio is above the 2026 projection; negative bars mean a decline. Both endpoints are forecasts from the same WEO vintage and are not realized fiscal outcomes.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook · April 2026 ↗ · change = 2031 projection − 2026 projectionchinainfigures.com
Fixed comparison set
2025 WEO values, plus 2026 and 2031 projections
| Economy | 2025 | 2026 proj. | 2031 proj. |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 99.2% | 106.9% | 126.8% |
| Japan | 206.5% | 204.4% | 192.8% |
| United States | 123.9% | 125.8% | 142.1% |
| Italy | 137.1% | 138.4% | 136.1% |
| France | 116.0% | 118.4% | 120.7% |
| United Kingdom | 102.3% | 103.6% | 102.6% |
| Germany | 62.9% | 64.6% | 73.7% |
| Korea, Rep. | 52.3% | 54.4% | 63.1% |
| World | 93.9% | 95.3% | 102.3% |
China milestones
Long-run path within one WEO vintage
| Year | Debt ratio | Phase |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 21.4% | WEO vintage value |
| 2000 | 22.7% | WEO vintage value |
| 2005 | 25.9% | WEO vintage value |
| 2010 | 33.3% | WEO vintage value |
| 2015 | 40.8% | WEO vintage value |
| 2020 | 70.1% | WEO vintage value |
| 2025 | 99.2% | WEO vintage value |
| 2026 | 106.9% | IMF projection |
| 2031 | 126.8% | IMF projection |
Stock ÷ flow
The ratio is not annual borrowing
The numerator is a debt stock; GDP is an annual flow. The ratio can rise because debt increases, GDP weakens, or both.
Do not splice scopes
Central and general government are different scopes
For international comparison this page stays on one IMF WEO indicator. A different database can report a valid China debt ratio yet still be unsuitable for splicing if its government scope differs.
Forecasts get revised
2031 is not a guaranteed outcome
WEO projections depend on fiscal policy, nominal growth, interest rates and other macro assumptions. A later WEO vintage can revise both the future path and earlier estimates.
Downloads and revisions
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Download CSV ↓Data file updated: 13 Aug 2026
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Public record
Revision and update timeline
Government debt indicator prepared
Prepared IMF WEO April 2026 general-government gross debt data for China from 1995 to 2031 and a fixed selected-economy comparison. The IMF projection boundary begins in 2026; projections are kept visibly separate from earlier WEO values.
Related sources: International Monetary Fund ↗
Sources and definitions registered; automated checks passed
Data downloads and revision timeline added
Added page-level formal-data CSV files, chart-level CSV/PNG/SVG exports and a bilingual revision timeline to all indicator pages.
Sources and definitions registered; automated checks passed