Historical trend
Trend summary
UK public sector net debt excluding public sector banks was 95.8% of GDP in the financial year ending March 2025.
Trend
- Debt has risen from around 35% of GDP in 2007–08 to its current level, driven by the 2008 financial crisis, COVID-19 response, and energy-price support schemes.
- The ratio has been broadly stable in 2023–25 after rising sharply in 2020–22.
- At 95.8% of GDP, the UK is above Germany (62%) and Canada (67%), but below Italy (135%) and Japan (255%) on comparable IMF definitions.
Context
- The ONS publishes public sector finances monthly; figures are subject to revision as outturn data comes in.
- This measure excludes the Bank of England's Asset Purchase Facility; including it would raise the ratio by several percentage points.
Official projections
The OBR (March 2025) projects debt to peak at 97.3% of GDP in 2025–26 before falling gradually over the subsequent four years.
Trend summary generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 on 26 March 2025. Contains no editorial judgement — describes direction, magnitude, and official projections only.
OECD comparison
UK ranks #2 of 7 in the G7 (lower is better)
🇩🇪 Germany
63 % GDP
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
94 % GDP
🇨🇦 Canada
106 % GDP
🇫🇷 France
111 % GDP
🇺🇸 United States
122 % GDP
🇮🇹 Italy
137 % GDP
🇯🇵 Japan
255 % GDP