Method

What these numbers are, and what they are not

Every figure here is an estimate published by an international statistical body. None is a measurement. The difference matters more in public finance than almost anywhere else, and this page is where the qualifications live.

Coverage

187 economies, covering approximately 99% of world output and world population. The list follows IMF World Economic Outlook coverage. Territories with separate statistical reporting — Hong Kong, Macao, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Kosovo, Palestine — appear as separate rows because their data is published separately, not as a statement about political status.

Indicators

Nominal GDP · USD billions

Gross domestic product at current market prices, converted to US dollars at market exchange rates. Not adjusted for purchasing power.

ComparabilityMoves with the US dollar. A 10% dollar appreciation mechanically shrinks every other economy’s figure without any change in real output.

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook
Vintage: 2025 estimate

Population · millions

Total resident population, mid-year estimate.

Source: UN World Population Prospects
Vintage: 2025 estimate

Land area · km²

Total land area, excluding inland water where the source reports it separately.

ComparabilityDefinitions of inland water and disputed territory differ between sources; figures follow UN convention.

Source: UN Statistics Division
Vintage: 2024

General government gross debt · % of GDP

Gross debt of the general government sector as a share of GDP. Gross means government-held financial assets are not netted off.

ComparabilityThe most misread figure in public finance. Perimeter varies by country — the IMF notes its Fiscal Monitor tables use a narrower perimeter for China than its Article IV estimates, and published figures for Japan range from roughly 200% to 250% depending on perimeter and valuation, both citing the IMF. Debt in a currency the government issues is a fundamentally different instrument from debt it must earn or borrow to service; this ratio does not distinguish them.

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook / Fiscal Monitor
Vintage: 2025–26 estimate

Bank total assets · USD billions

Total assets for the most recent reporting period: cash, loans, investments, property and equipment.

ComparabilityAssets, not market capitalisation — the two rank very differently. Coverage is the largest institutions per country and is not exhaustive.

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence
Vintage: 2026 ranking

Net government debt · % of GDP

Government debt net of its financial assets, as a share of GDP.

ComparabilityPublished for fewer countries than gross. Norway is negative — its sovereign wealth fund holds more than the state owes. Net is often the fairer solvency measure; gross is what headlines quote.

Source: IMF Fiscal Monitor
Vintage: 2025–26 estimate

Household debt · % of GDP

Credit to households and non-profits serving them, as a share of GDP.

ComparabilityBIS publishes this for exactly 44 economies. The other ~143 countries here have no comparable figure — shown as absent, never zero. High household debt signals consumer leverage, not government weakness.

Source: BIS credit statistics
Vintage: 2024–25

Corporate debt · % of GDP

Credit to non-financial corporations, as a share of GDP.

ComparabilityBIS, same 44-economy coverage. Luxembourg and Ireland are extreme outliers due to multinationals domiciled there; the figure reflects corporate structuring, not domestic fragility.

Source: BIS credit statistics
Vintage: 2024–25

Exchange rate regime · classification

How the currency is managed: free floating, floating, pegged, currency board, or no separate legal tender.

ComparabilityIMF de facto classification — what a country actually does, which sometimes differs from what it says. A country that issues its own freely floating currency can service local-currency debt in a way a pegged or dollarised economy cannot.

Source: IMF AREAER
Vintage: 2025

Central bank policy rate · %

The main policy interest rate set by the central bank.

ComparabilityThe one genuinely live figure on this site — it changes on each bank’s meeting calendar, not annually. Euro-area countries share the ECB’s rate. Verify against the central bank directly before relying on it.

Source: Central banks / BIS
Vintage: mid-2026, live

Residential house prices · % year-on-year

Year-on-year change in residential property prices, nominal and inflation-adjusted.

ComparabilityRoughly 60 economies publish comparable indices. Nominal and real diverge sharply — Turkey’s nominal prices rose over 30% while real prices fell, because inflation outran them.

Source: BIS / OECD residential property
Vintage: latest quarter

Known limits

Estimates, not actuals: 2025–26 figures are projections. Revisions of 1–3% on GDP are normal.
Low-confidence economies: Venezuela, Syria, North Korea, Afghanistan, Libya and Somalia carry wide uncertainty bands. Treat them as indicative.
Exchange rate sensitivity: Nominal GDP in dollars moves with the dollar. Cross-year comparisons partly measure currency movement rather than real output.
Ireland and Luxembourg: GDP per capita is inflated by multinational profit booking and does not reflect domestic living standards.
Missing debt figures: Nine economies publish no comparable general government debt figure. They are shown as absent, never as zero.
Bank coverage: Not exhaustive. Large markets list many institutions; small markets may list one. Absence from the list is not evidence a country lacks a banking sector.

What this site does not do

It does not forecast, rate creditworthiness, or offer investment guidance. It reports published estimates and explains what they mean. A ranking here is a description of the data, not an assessment of a country.