Washington: The October 2025 update of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) puts Japan at the top of the list of most indebted nations.

Japan has a debt level of 229.6 percent of its GDP. This is the highest in the world and can be attributed to decades of fiscal deficits and an ageing population.

Sudan, faced with years of instability and sanctions comes a close second with a debt load of 221.5 percent of GDP. Singapore comes third with 175.6 percent. This is due to its unique fiscal model that uses government borrowing mainly to fund domestic investment through sovereign wealth funds rather than to finance deficits. The next four in the list are Greece (146.7 percent), Bahrain (142.5 percent), Italy (136.8 percent) and the Maldives (131.8 percent). All of them face persistent budget p

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