Debt ratios by institutional sectors - international comparisons - 2025-Q3
Published on 17th of February 2026
In Q3 2025, the debt ratio of private agents continued to decline in the euro area, except in France.
Non-financial private sector debt ratio (in % of GDP)![]()
- In the third quarter of 2025, the private non-financial agents debt ratio declined in the euro area and the United States, as nominal GDP growth exceeded the growth of nominal outstanding debt. By contrast, it increased in Japan and the United Kingdom, driven by non-financial corporate debt, while the household debt ratio declined in all four zones.
- Although the debt ratio of private non-financial agents continued its downward trend in the euro area (-0.7 pp after -0.4 pp in the previous quarter), this overall trend masked different national situations: it rose by +0.6 pp in France this quarter (but remained down 0.5 pp year-on-year), while it declined further in Spain, Italy, and Germany (-2.0 pp, -0.6 pp, and -0.4 pp, respectively).
- In France, this debt ratio remained significantly higher than in the euro area, for all private non-financial agents (135.1% versus 104%), but also particularly for non-financial corporations (NFCs: 75.7% versus 53.3%). The net debt of French NFCs, i.e. their gross debt less treasury held, is much lower than their debt but remains higher than the euro-area average (40.3% versus 27.4%).
Non-financial private sector debt (in % of GDP)
| Q3 2023 | Q3 2024 | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 | |
| United States | 147.2 | 143.3 | 141.3 | 140.3 | 139.7 | 139.2 |
| Japan | 162.7 | 161.7 | 162.6 | 160.8 | 160.0 | 160.2 |
| Euro area | 110.3 | 105.9 | 105.3 | 105.1 | 104.7 | 104.0 |
| o/w Germany | 99.1 | 96.0 | 95.1 | 95.9 | 96.0 | 95.6 |
| France | 140.2 | 135.6 | 135.3 | 134.6 | 134.5 | 135.1 |
| Italy | 93.6 | 89.2 | 89.3 | 89.2 | 89.5 | 88.9 |
| Spain | 102.2 | 96.8 | 94.9 | 94.0 | 94.6 | 92.6 |
| United Kingdom | 126.1 | 124.9 | 124.4 | 120.6 | 120.3 | 120.8 |
Households debt ratio![]()
(in % of GDB and % of GDI)
Households debt
| Q3 2023 | Q3 2024 | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 | |
| United States | 98.9 | 96.1 | 95.0 | 94.0 | 93.7 | 93.4 |
| 129.2 | 125.0 | 123.5 | 122.4 | 122.0 | 121.9 | |
| Japan | 62.9 | 62.1 | 62.1 | 61.8 | 61.3 | 61.1 |
| 115.8 | 115.3 | 115.7 | 115.9 | 115.7 | 115.8 | |
| Euro area | 53.3 | 51.3 | 51.1 | 50.8 | 50.9 | 50.7 |
| 87.1 | 83.1 | 82.7 | 82.3 | 82.5 | 82.4 | |
| o/w Germany | 51.2 | 49.8 | 49.7 | 49.4 | 49.3 | 49.2 |
| 80.3 | 77.5 | 76.9 | 76.6 | 76.5 | 76.5 | |
| France | 62.9 | 60.1 | 60.0 | 59.8 | 59.5 | 59.4 |
| 96.3 | 90.9 | 90.4 | 90.3 | 90.0 | 90.1 | |
| Italy | 37.5 | 36.0 | 36.0 | 35.9 | 36.0 | 35.9 |
| 57.8 | 55.6 | 55.6 | 55.4 | 55.3 | 54.9 | |
| Spain | 47.2 | 44.1 | 43.7 | 43.4 | 44.0 | 43.1 |
| 75.5 | 69.6 | 68.9 | 68.4 | 69.1 | 68.0 | |
| United Kingdom | 77.1 | 75.4 | 74.7 | 74.3 | 73.6 | 73.6 |
| 122.3 | 117.6 | 115.8 | 115.1 | 113.8 | 113.9 |
Non-financial corporations debt ratio (in % of GDP)![]()
Non-financial corporations debt (in % of GDP)
| Q3 2023 | Q3 2024 | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 | |
| United States | 48.3 | 47.2 | 46.3 | 46.3 | 46.0 | 45.8 |
| Japan | 99.9 | 99.5 | 100.4 | 99.0 | 98.8 | 99.1 |
| Euro area | 57.0 | 54.6 | 54.3 | 54.3 | 53.9 | 53.3 |
| o/w Germany | 47.9 | 46.2 | 45.4 | 46.5 | 46.7 | 46.3 |
| France | 77.3 | 75.4 | 75.3 | 74.7 | 75.0 | 75.7 |
| Italy | 56.1 | 53.2 | 53.3 | 53.3 | 53.5 | 53.0 |
| Spain | 55.0 | 52.7 | 51.2 | 50.6 | 50.6 | 49.5 |
| United Kingdom | 49.0 | 49.5 | 49.7 | 46.3 | 46.6 | 47.3 |
Net cash debt ratio of non-financial corporations (in % of GDP) ![]()
Net cash debt ratio of non-financtial corporations (in % of GDP)
| Q3 2023 | Q3 2024 | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 | |
| United States | 37.3 | 36.3 | 35.4 | 35.7 | 35.5 | 35.1 |
| Japan | 40.5 | 41.6 | 43.6 | 41.3 | 41.9 | 42.5 |
| Euro area | 30.3 | 28.5 | 27.3 | 28.2 | 28.3 | 27.4 |
| o/w Germany | 27.5 | 25.8 | 24.4 | 26.4 | 27.1 | 25.9 |
| France | 40.3 | 40.3 | 40.3 | 40.2 | 40.2 | 40.3 |
| Italy | 31.5 | 29.0 | 28.2 | 29.1 | 29.4 | 28.7 |
| Spain | 30.6 | 28.5 | 26.5 | 27.1 | 27.1 | 26.1 |
| United Kingdom | 18.3 | 20.2 | 20.4 | 17.6 | 18.7 | 19.3 |
General government sector debt ratio (in % of GDP)![]()
- In the third quarter of 2025, the general government debt ratio in the euro area continued to increase, rising by +0.3 pp (after +0.5 pp in the previous quarter). Among the major member countries, the ratios of France and Germany continued to rise (+1.7 pp and +0.7 pp respectively after +1.8 pp and +0.3 pp), while those of Italy and Spain decreased (-0.5 pp and -0.3 pp respectively after +0.9 pp and +0.1 pp). Year-on-year, France's ratio increased by +3.8 pp compared with the third quarter of 2024, versus only +0.8 pp in the euro area.
- As in the euro area, the public debt ratio increased in the United States and in the United Kingdom (+2.8 pp and +0.9 pp respectively after -1.3 pp and +1.0 pp in the previous quarter), while it continued to decline in Japan (-2.5 pp after -1.2 pp in the previous quarter).
Government sector debt (in % of GDP)
| Q3 2023 | Q3 2024 | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 | |
| United States | 116.7 | 118.4 | 119.5 | 119.2 | 117.9 | 120.7 |
| Japan | 221.6 | 220.0 | 218.7 | 216.7 | 215.5 | 213.0 |
| Euro area* | 88.0 | 87.7 | 87.1 | 87.7 | 88.2 | 88.5 |
| o/w Germany | 63.2 | 62.0 | 62.2 | 62.0 | 62.3 | 63.0 |
| France | 111.0 | 113.6 | 113.2 | 113.9 | 115.7 | 117.4 |
| Italy | 135.0 | 135.6 | 134.9 | 137.4 | 138.3 | 137.8 |
| Spain | 107.3 | 104.2 | 101.6 | 103.4 | 103.5 | 103.2 |
| United Kingdom * | 97.2 | 99.7 | 99.9 | 99.7 | 100.7 | 101.6 |
* "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 | GDP change Effect | |
| United States | -0.3 | 0.9 | -1.2 |
| Japan | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
| Euro area | -0.2 | 0.3 | -0.5 |
| o/w Germany | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| France | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Italy | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Spain | -0.9 | -0.3 | -0.6 |
| United Kingdom | -0.1 | 0.8 | -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 | GDP change Effect | |
| United States | -0.2 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
| Japan | 0.3 | 1.3 | -1.0 |
| Euro area | -0.6 | -0.1 | -0.5 |
| o/w Germany | -0.4 | 0.0 | -0.4 |
| France | 0.7 | 1.0 | -0.3 |
| Italy | -0.6 | -0.2 | -0.4 |
| Spain | -1.1 | -0.4 | -0.7 |
| United Kingdom | 0.6 | 1.2 | -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 | GDP change Effect | |
| United States | 2.8 | 4.4 | -1.6 |
| Japan | -2.5 | -0.5 | -2.1 |
| Euro area | 0.3 | 1.1 | -0.8 |
| o/w Germany | 0.7 | 1.2 | -0.5 |
| France | 1.7 | 2.2 | -0.5 |
| Italy | -0.5 | 0.4 | -0.9 |
| Spain | -0.3 | 1.1 | -1.4 |
| United Kingdom | 0.8 | 2.0 | -1.2 |
Sources: euro area (Quarterly national accounts, INSEE, Eurostat, ECB), United States (Fed, BEA), Japan (BoJ, CaO, OECD), United Kingdom (ONS, OECD)
Computation : Banque de France
Computation : Banque de France
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EN_Stat_info_Non-Financial_sector_debt_ratios-International_comparisons_2025Q3.pdf
Updated on the 18th of February 2026