economy · Public finance

How much debt does the central government have?

Central government debt as a share of GDP.

46.5%
0.9x since 1990 Central government debt · 2018
0% 18% 35% 53% 70% 19901994199820022006201020142018 2018
Source: World Bank Indicators API · indicator GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS Fetched 3/6/2026

At a glance

46.5%
latest value, 2018
50.8%
first value, 1990
29
annual observations in this artifact
annual
source frequency
The explanation Draft prose wraps locked source numbers; no numbers are generated at request time

Debt-to-GDP is the basic scale measure for public debt.

Debt-to-GDP is the basic scale measure for public debt.

Central government debt as a share of GDP.

Read this as one piece of evidence, not the whole story. The useful question is what changes over time, what stays stuck, and what the indicator leaves out.

Keep pulling the thread

How big is India's economy? -> How fast is India's economy growing? -> How rich is the average Indian by GDP per person? ->

Methodology

MeasureCentral government debt
GeographyIndia
Unit% of GDP
TransformValues displayed as percent of GDP.
CaveatThis is central government debt and does not give the whole fiscal picture by itself.