Georgia ranks 141st in Global National Debt, reports IMF

Georgia ranks 141st out of 188 countries in terms of total national debt, said the International Monetary Fund, Azernews reports.

Data from the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs shows that by the end of 2023, Georgia's government debt was 39.2 percent of GDP.

As of December 31, 2023, the government debt stood at 32.6 billion lari ($11.6 billion). In 2023, external debt rose by 1.407 billion lari ($504.3 million), while internal debt increased by 1.411 billion lari ($505.7 million). Overall, the debt grew by 2.8 billion lari in 2023, but thanks to economic growth, it remained at 39.2 percent of GDP.

Between 2013 and 2016, Georgia's government debt increased. It slightly decreased in 2017-2018 to 38.2 percent of GDP, but then rose to 40.0 percent in 2019. In 2020, the debt-to-GDP ratio jumped by nearly 20 percentage points due to the pandemic, reaching 59.6 percent. However, over the past three years, the situation has returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Sudan has the highest national debt, followed by Japan and then Greece. The top ten also include the US, Argentina, Venezuela, Italy, and Singapore.