Debt ratios by institutional sectors - international comparisons - 2024-Q3
Published on the 17th of February 2025
Debt ratio of private non-financial agents continued to fall but remained higher in France than elsewhere in Europe
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Non-financial private sector debt ratio (in % of GDP)![]()
- In the third quarter of 2024, in the four zones, United States, Japan, euro area and United Kingdom, the debt rate of private non-financial agents decreased again thanks to the increase in nominal GDP (which decreases the ratio) higher than the increase of the nominal amount of debt. For the 4 zones, the debt rate decreased for both households and non-financial corporations.
- In the euro area, the debt rate of private non-financial agents decreased by -1.1 pp after -0.2 pp. Among the major countries of the area, the decrease was stronger in Spain, in Italy and in France (respectively -1.5 pp, -1.4 pp and -1.2 pp) and more moderate in Germany (-0.4 pp).
- In France and despite recent declines, this debt rate remained significantly higher than in the euro area, for all non-financial agents (135.1% versus 106.3%), but also particularly for the non-financial corporations (NFCs: 74.9% versus 54.5%). The net debt of French NFCs, i.e. their gross debt less treasury held, remained also higher than the euro area average (39.9% versus 28.1%).
Non-financial private sector debt (in % of GDP)
| Q32022 | Q32023 | Q42023 | Q12024 | Q22024 | Q32024 | |
| United States | 154.0 | 147.6 | 146.4 | 145.4 | 144.5 | 143.9 |
| Japan | 173.2 | 169.9 | 169.7 | 169.7 | 169.1 | 168.6 |
| Euro area | 119.3 | 110.8 | 108.9 | 107.6 | 107.4 | 106.3 |
| o/w Germany | 105.1 | 99.7 | 97.9 | 97.4 | 96.9 | 96.5 |
| France | 146.4 | 140.1 | 138.5 | 136.4 | 136.3 | 135.1 |
| Italy | 102.6 | 94.0 | 93.4 | 92.2 | 91.4 | 90.0 |
| Spain | 117.5 | 102.3 | 100.0 | 99.1 | 98.5 | 97.0 |
| United Kingdom | 137.2 | 128.5 | 126.4 | 126.3 | 125.2 | 124.8 |
Households debt ratio (in % of GDP and % of GDI)![]()
Households debt
| Q32022 | Q32023 | Q42023 | Q12024 | Q22024 | Q32024 | |
| United States | 102.9 | 99.2 | 98.6 | 97.6 | 97.0 | 96.6 |
| 135.6 | 130.2 | 129.1 | 127.8 | 127.1 | 126.5 | |
| Japan | 67.3 | 65.7 | 65.3 | 65.4 | 65.6 | 65.2 |
| 115.0 | 116.2 | 114.8 | 115.3 | 111.3 | 116.0 | |
| Euro area | 57.1 | 53.6 | 52.9 | 52.4 | 52.1 | 51.8 |
| 93.9 | 87.3 | 86.1 | 84.9 | 84.2 | 83.6 | |
| o/w Germany | 54.2 | 51.6 | 51.0 | 50.6 | 50.2 | 50.1 |
| 86.4 | 80.8 | 79.9 | 78.8 | 78.2 | 77.8 | |
| France | 65.8 | 62.9 | 62.0 | 61.3 | 60.7 | 60.2 |
| 102.6 | 96.5 | 94.9 | 93.7 | 92.4 | 91.5 | |
| Italy | 40.5 | 37.7 | 37.2 | 36.7 | 36.5 | 36.3 |
| 61.7 | 58.0 | 57.5 | 56.7 | 56.3 | 55.8 | |
| Spain | 53.0 | 47.2 | 46.1 | 45.2 | 45.4 | 44.1 |
| 84.7 | 75.3 | 73.1 | 71.0 | 70.7 | 68.6 | |
| United Kingdom | 83.5 | 78.7 | 77.9 | 77.3 | 76.8 | 76.6 |
| 131.5 | 122.2 | 120.6 | 119.1 | 117.8 | 117.0 |
Non-financial corporations debt ratio (in % of GDP)![]()
Non-financial corporations debt (in % of GDP)
| Q32022 | Q32023 | Q42023 | Q12024 | Q22024 | Q32024 | |
| United States | 51.0 | 48.4 | 47.8 | 47.8 | 47.5 | 47.4 |
| Japan | 105.9 | 104.3 | 104.4 | 104.3 | 103.5 | 103.4 |
| Euro area | 62.1 | 57.1 | 56.0 | 55.3 | 55.2 | 54.5 |
| o/w Germany | 50.9 | 48.1 | 46.9 | 46.7 | 46.7 | 46.4 |
| France | 80.6 | 77.1 | 76.5 | 75.0 | 75.6 | 74.9 |
| Italy | 62.0 | 56.3 | 56.2 | 55.5 | 54.9 | 53.7 |
| Spain | 64.5 | 55.1 | 53.9 | 53.9 | 53.1 | 52.9 |
| United Kingdom | 53.8 | 49.8 | 48.4 | 49.0 | 48.4 | 48.2 |
Net cash debt ratio of non-financial corporations (in % of GDP) ![]()
Net cash debt ratio of non-financtial corporations (in % of GDP)
| Q32022 | Q32023 | Q42023 | Q12024 | Q22024 | Q32024 | |
| United States | 40.7 | 37.0 | 37.0 | 37.2 | 37.4 | 37.5 |
| Japan | 43.4 | 42.3 | 44.5 | 41.4 | 42.0 | 42.5 |
| Euro area | 33.1 | 30.1 | 28.6 | 28.5 | 28.6 | 28.1 |
| o/w Germany | 29.1 | 27.4 | 26.2 | 26.5 | 26.8 | 25.8 |
| France | 41.0 | 40.2 | 40.1 | 38.7 | 39.1 | 39.9 |
| Italy | 35.6 | 31.6 | 31.4 | 31.1 | 29.3 | 29.7 |
| Spain | 37.8 | 30.9 | 29.7 | 30.0 | 29.0 | 29.1 |
| United Kingdom | 17.6 | 18.7 | 18.0 | 19.0 | 18.5 | 18.3 |
General government sector debt ratio (in % of GDP)![]()
- In the third quarter, the general government debt ratio in the euro area was stable (after +0.3 pp on the previous quarter). Among the major member countries, the ratios of France (+1.5 pp after +1.6 pp) and Germany (+0.5 pp after -0.7 pp) increased while the ratios of Spain and Italy decreased respectively by -1.0 pp after -1.0 pp and -0.6 pp after +1.7 pp. Over one year, France's ratio increased by +2.5 pp compared to the third quarter of 2023.
- Outside the euro area, the public debt ratio decreased in Japan (-2.5 pp after +1.9 pp on the previous quarter). It increased in the United States (+1.2 pp after -1.1 pp) as well as in the United Kingdom (+0.2 pp after +1.4 pp).
Government sector debt (in % of GDP)
| Q32022 | Q32023 | Q42023 | Q12024 | Q22024 | Q32024 | |
| United States | 116.7 | 116.9 | 118.2 | 118.7 | 117.6 | 118.8 |
| Japan | 236.6 | 230.6 | 229.7 | 229.9 | 231.8 | 229.3 |
| Euro area* | 90.9 | 88.4 | 87.4 | 87.9 | 88.2 | 88.2 |
| o/w Germany | 65.7 | 63.8 | 62.9 | 62.6 | 61.9 | 62.4 |
| France | 113.1 | 111.2 | 110.0 | 110.6 | 112.2 | 113.7 |
| Italy | 139.9 | 135.5 | 134.8 | 135.2 | 136.9 | 136.3 |
| Spain | 112.2 | 107.4 | 105.1 | 106.3 | 105.3 | 104.3 |
| United Kingdom * | 98.9 | 98.6 | 100.1 | 99.4 | 100.8 | 101.0 |
* "Maastricht" definition NSA (nominal value) for European Union countries.
Additional information
The French debt of NFCs includes outstanding loans from resident and non-resident MFI (i.e. both loans between resident NFCs and from non-resident NFCs are excluded) and issued securities other than shares at nominal value.
Disseminated data of other countries are less detailed. NFC's net loans are therefore estimated by deducting loans assets, which mainly covers loans to resident and non-resident affiliated entities, from loans liabilities.
Disseminated data of other countries are less detailed. NFC's net loans are therefore estimated by deducting loans assets, which mainly covers loans to resident and non-resident affiliated entities, from loans liabilities.
Breakdown of the change in the ratio of households debt ratio (in % points of GDP)
| Change in the ratio | Debt change Effect | Nominal GDP change Effect | |
| United States | -0.4 | 0.8 | -1.2 |
| Japan | -0.4 | 0.1 | -0.5 |
| Euro area | -0.4 | 0.2 | -0.5 |
| o/w Germany | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| France | -0.5 | 0.0 | -0.5 |
| Italy | -0.2 | 0.0 | -0.3 |
| Spain | -1.3 | -0.6 | -0.7 |
| United Kingdom | -0.3 | 0.7 | -0.9 |
Breakdown of the change in the ratio of non-financial corporations debt ratio (in % points of GDP)
| Change in the ratio | Debt change Effect | Nominal GDP change Effect | |
| United States | -0.2 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
| Japan | -0.1 | 0.6 | -0.7 |
| Euro area | -0.7 | -0.2 | -0.5 |
| o/w Germany | -0.3 | 0.0 | -0.3 |
| France | -0.7 | -0.1 | -0.6 |
| Italy | -1.2 | -0.8 | -0.4 |
| Spain | -0.2 | 0.7 | -0.8 |
| United Kingdom | -0.2 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
Breakdown of the change in the ratio of General government sector debt ratio (in % points of GDP)
| Change in the ratio | Debt change Effect | Nominal GDP change Effect | |
| United States | 1.2 | 2.7 | -1.5 |
| Japan | -2.5 | -0.8 | -1.6 |
| Euro area | 0.0 | 0.9 | -0.9 |
| o/w Germany | 0.5 | 0.9 | -0.4 |
| France | 1.5 | 2.5 | -1.0 |
| Italy | -0.6 | 0.4 | -1.0 |
| Spain | -1.0 | 0.7 | -1.7 |
| United Kingdom | 0.2 | 1.4 | -1.2 |
Download the PDF version of the document
EN_Stat_Info_Non-financial_sector_debt_ratios_-_International_comparisons_2024Q3.pdf
Updated on the 14th of February 2025