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What are the 2025 total national debts for each G7 country and their sources?
Executive summary
Available sources give 2025 government-debt totals and debt-to-GDP ratios for G7 countries mainly from IMF-based visualizations and Reuters/OECD commentary, but no single authoritative table listing “total national debt” for all seven in one place is provided in the search results (available sources do not mention a single consolidated official table for all seven) [1] [2] [3]. Reporting repeatedly identifies the U.S. as the largest absolute debtor (c. $36–$38+ trillion in 2025) and Japan as the highest debt-to-GDP ratio (around 230% in 2025) [4] [2] [3].
1. Big-picture: absolute piles vs. ratios — why the difference matters
Countries’ headline “debt” numbers can mean either an absolute dollar total or a debt-to-GDP ratio; the sources stress both. VisualCapitalist and related IMF-based graphics show the United States topping absolute debt in 2025 (figures cited between roughly $36 trillion and $38+ trillion) while Japan is shown as the most indebted relative to output at about 230% of GDP in 2025 [1] [2] [3]. Absolute totals matter for market size and global reserve-currency roles; debt-to-GDP matters for sustainability and creditworthiness [3] [2].
2. The U.S.: the largest absolute debt — recent figures from IMF-based visuals
Multiple IMF-derived visualizations and commentary report U.S. government debt in 2025 as the largest among the G7, with numbers cited in reporting and graphics around $36 trillion (reporting) to “exceeds $38 trillion” in some VisualCapitalist pieces, and a debt-to-GDP figure in the low-120s percent range (around 123–125%) for 2025 [4] [1] [5]. Reuters and other outlets note political choices (tax/spending bills) that could add materially to U.S. debt trajectories [6].
3. Japan: the highest debt burden relative to GDP
VisualCapitalist and related IMF-based maps place Japan as the G7’s heaviest relative debtor — about 230% of GDP in 2025 — with an absolute debt pile cited near $9.8 trillion in one visualization [2] [3]. Coverage emphasizes Japan’s dual reality: extreme debt-to-GDP but a different investor profile because much of the debt is domestically held (available sources do not mention domestic vs. foreign creditor share in these specific snippets) [3].
4. UK, France, Italy: large debts, political and market sensitivity
The UK and France are repeatedly listed as having multi‑trillion dollar debt burdens (around $3–4 trillion scale in VisualCapitalist summaries) and rising debt-to-GDP ratios; Italy remains high on debt-to-GDP among G7 members (one source cites Italy near 137% in contextual lists) [2] [5] [7]. Reuters and Scope Ratings highlight market sensitivity — for example, France’s risk premium vs. Germany and Italy’s long‑term dynamics — and point to elections and fiscal choices shaping 2025 trajectories [8] [6] [7].
5. Germany and Canada: relatively lower burdens but not immune
Germany is repeatedly identified as the G7 country with the lowest debt-to-GDP among peers (about mid‑60s percent in 2025) and is presented as an outlier with projected declines by 2029, while Canada’s debt features in datasets but is not singled out in these snippets for extreme values [5] [3] [9]. Reuters and Scope note that even countries with lower ratios face market scrutiny when borrowing rises for infrastructure or defence spending [8] [7].
6. Sources and methodology: IMF-based visuals, Reuters, OECD/statistics
The numeric snapshots in these search results come mainly from IMF World Economic Outlook-derived visualizations and secondary aggregators (VisualCapitalist, Voronoi) and reporting that cites IMF, as well as Reuters coverage and OECD general-government debt pages for definitions [1] [3] [2] [8] [10]. Statista and other data aggregators are referenced for historical series to 2023 but are not the primary 2025 source in the snippets provided [9] [11]. Available sources do not provide a single official consolidated 2025 dollar total table for each G7 country from a single publisher within the supplied results (available sources do not mention a single consolidated official table) [1] [2].
7. What’s missing and how to get precise 2025 totals
The supplied search results give consistent directional claims (U.S. largest absolute, Japan largest ratio) and several numeric estimates, but they lack a single-source, line-by-line 2025 table with every G7 country’s dollar total from an official dataset in the snippets provided. For exact official totals by country in 2025, check the IMF World Economic Outlook data mapper or OECD “general government debt” datasets directly (the VisualCapitalist pieces cite the IMF WEO as their underlying source) [1] [3] [10] [12]. The OECD page explains debt definitions and comparability issues [10].
8. Bottom line for readers
Use two lenses: absolute dollar debt (U.S. dominates) and debt-to-GDP (Japan leads). The numbers in reporting and infographics point to around $36–$38+ trillion for the U.S. in 2025 and about 230% of GDP for Japan in 2025, with the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Canada occupying varied positions between those extremes; to cite precise country-by-country 2025 totals, consult the IMF WEO or OECD datasets underlying the visualizations cited here [4] [2] [10] [1].