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General government gross debt in Canada

113.58

% of GDP, 2025

Low trust, 57 of 100 The sources disagree: their figures run from 52 to 113.58.

Each source by year: % of GDP
  • IMF WEO
  • IMF GDD
  • GDD central
050100150195019601980200020252022: IMF WEO: IMF WEO country note: "Statistics Canada made a methodological change in late 2022 to value assets at market value instead of book value, which has decreased net debt."1979: IMF GDD: The GDD series switches source in 1979: National Source up to 1978, then WEO 2025 (1979-2024).

Recorded change in how a source reports; hover or focus the ring for details.

Show the data as a table
YearIMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026), general government gross debt (GGXWDG_NGDP)IMF Global Debt Database (September 2025), general government debt (GG_DEBT_GDP)IMF Global Debt Database (September 2025), central government debt (CG_DEBT_GDP)
1950–87.75–
1951–76.52–
1952–70.05–
1953–67.19–
1954–68.28–
1955–66.46–
1956–58.4–
1957–57.63–
1958–63.1–
1959–64.18–
1960–64.87–
1961–67.36–
1962–66.64–
1963–65.38–
1964–62.03–
1965–58.31–
1966–57.07–
1967–57.02–
1968–56.32–
1969–54.43–
1970–56.74–
1971–57.89–
1972–56.69–
1973–52.33–
1974–49.5–
1975–49.88–
1976–42.84–
1977–44.3–
1978–47.12–
1979–44.16–
198044.5944.59–
198146.0846.08–
198251.7151.71–
198357.2157.21–
198460.2160.21–
198565.1765.17–
198669.3269.32–
198769.7669.76–
198869.7469.74–
198970.9970.99–
199073.7473.7451.22
199181.6681.6656.09
199288.2388.2359.25
199394.7394.7362.69
199497.4897.4863.29
1995100.08100.0864.38
1996100.24100.2464.69
199795.2795.2761.65
199893.2993.2958.89
199988.9788.9753.07
200080.4480.4446.33
200181.4681.4646.15
200279.679.643.06
200375.9175.9140.6
200471.8971.8936.68
200570.6470.6436.24
200669.9269.9233.79
200767.1867.1829.9
200870.3670.3636.25
200981.881.843.67
201083.9783.9844.07
201184.2884.2944.95
201287.0187.1545.28
201387.787.6142.59
201485.7685.5440.57
201592.2892.0343.17
201692.4892.442.88
201790.9990.9441.28
201890.7690.7839.65
201990.1190.2139.09
2020118.06118.0760.6
2021112.61112.6255.88
2022103.54104.2148.66
2023105.07107.7150.97
2024110.02110.7752
2025113.58––

All countriesAll of Canada's figuresCompare

Canada among 184 countries

13 have a higher figure and 170 a lower one. Definitions differ between countries, and their years run from 2009 to 2026.

Lowest: Liechtenstein, 0.49Highest: Lebanon, 357.45
What this number counts
Counts
General government gross debt at the end of the year, as a percentage of the year's GDP (a narrower central government figure is shown with half weight)
Where
Canada
When
Latest actual year: IMF WEO 2025, IMF GDD 2024, GDD central 2024. IMF WEO forecast years are left out. (one year, not an average)

The IMF WEO figure (2025). When sources differ, we show the middle one, with better sources counting more.

Where the number comes from (3 sources)
SourceFigure and yearDefinitionQualityCounts for
IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026), general government gross debt (GGXWDG_NGDP)International Monetary Fund (IMF) · Official economic statisticsRetrieved 2026-10-27
113.582025
General government gross debt at the end of 2025, as a percentage of GDP, from the IMF World Economic Outlook of October 2026.

Latest actual year according to WEO: 2025; later WEO years are IMF forecasts and are left out. WEO's country metadata: general government covers Central Government; State Government; Local Government; Social Security Funds; debt is valued at face value; instruments listed: Loans; Securities Other than Shares; methodology: Government Finance Statistics Manual (GFSM) 2001; historical data source: Ministry of Finance or Treasury. Country notes: Preliminary data: based on quarterly data. Fiscal data are on a calendar year basis. Canada's net debt corresponds to net financial liabilities as reported by Statistics Canada and includes equity and investment fund shares, which Canada has built up substantially. Statistics Canada made a methodological change in late 2022 to value assets at market value instead of book value, which has decreased net debt. Historical data source: Some historical data is also from National Statistics Office. Instruments included in gross and net debt: Gross debt includes debt securities, loans, life insurance and pension, and other accounts payable but excludes unfunded pension liabilities. Net debt is estimated as gross debt minus financial assets which include currency and deposits, debt securities, loans, equity and investment fund shares, and accounts receivable.

Raw file: weo_sdmx_GGXWDG_NGDP.xml (https://api.imf.org/external/sdmx/2.1/data/IMF.RES,WEO/.GGXWDG_NGDP.A; WEO published 13 October 2026).

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. WEO publishes the indicator definition and per-country metadata (coverage, valuation, sources).
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. IMF staff compile the series from national authorities' fiscal data.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. A stock of all recorded government debt, not a sample.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. The whole WEO dataset is a free download (SDMX API and DataMapper).
  • No: No known break or quality problem. WEO notes a break or method change for this country: Statistics Canada made a methodological change in late 2022 to value assets at market value instead of book value, which has decreased net debt.
62%
IMF Global Debt Database (September 2025), general government debt (GG_DEBT_GDP)International Monetary Fund (IMF) · Official economic statisticsRetrieved 2026-10-27
110.772024
Total stock of debt liabilities issued by the general government at the end of 2024, as a percentage of GDP (GDD indicator "Debt instruments, General government").

The GDD names its source for each span of years: National Source (1950-1978); WEO 2025 (1979-2024). The figure for 2024 comes from WEO 2025. Calendar years.

Raw file: gdd_sdmx_GG_CG.xml (https://api.imf.org/external/sdmx/2.1/data/IMF.FAD,GDD/.FL_S13_POGDP_PT+FL_S1311MIXED_POGDP_PT.A; GDD release of 17 September 2025), the same values as the DataMapper API file GG_DEBT_GDP.json. The GDD gives "WEO 2025" as the source of its 2024 figure, the collection shown in the IMF WEO line, so it is shown but not counted as a separate source. The latest IMF WEO release gives 110.02 for 2024.

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. The IMF publishes the definitions and the source of each span of years (IMF Working Paper 18/111).
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Compiled by IMF staff from official sources; this figure from WEO 2025.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. A stock of all recorded debt of the sector, not a sample.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. The whole database is a free download (SDMX API and DataMapper).
  • No: No known break or quality problem. The series joins 2 sources over time, so earlier and later years may not be measured the same way.
Not counted
IMF Global Debt Database (September 2025), central government debt (CG_DEBT_GDP)International Monetary Fund (IMF) · Official economic statisticsRetrieved 2026-10-27
522024
Total stock of debt liabilities issued by the central government at the end of 2024, as a percentage of GDP (GDD indicator "Debt instruments, Central government").

The GDD names its source for each span of years: National Source (1990-2024). The figure for 2024 comes from National Source. Calendar years. Central government is a narrower unit than general government: it leaves out state and local governments and, depending on the country, social security funds, so it is shown with half weight.

Raw file: gdd_sdmx_GG_CG.xml (https://api.imf.org/external/sdmx/2.1/data/IMF.FAD,GDD/.FL_S13_POGDP_PT+FL_S1311MIXED_POGDP_PT.A; GDD release of 17 September 2025), the same values as the DataMapper API file CG_DEBT_GDP.json.

5 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. The IMF publishes the definitions and the source of each span of years (IMF Working Paper 18/111).
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Compiled by IMF staff from official sources; this figure from National Source.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. A stock of all recorded debt of the sector, not a sample.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. The whole database is a free download (SDMX API and DataMapper).
  • Yes: No known break or quality problem. One source for the whole series.
38%

Better and more direct sources count for more. A source that only copies another does not count.

  • IMF WEO62%
  • GDD central38%

Shown but not counted: IMF GDD (republishes IMF WEO).

How the trust score was worked out
Quality35.1 / 40

How well the sources are made

Agreement0 / 30

How close the sources are to each other

Independence12 / 20

How many separate ways the number was measured

Freshness10 / 10

How recent the newest data is

How the score works

Who reports it, and since when

Which kinds of source measure this number, which years each one published, and where the reporting stops or has holes.

  • Blind spot: every counted source is the same kind
  • IMF WEO, 2022: IMF WEO country note: "Statistics Canada made a methodological change in late 2022 to value assets at market value instead of book value, which has decreased net debt." source
  • IMF GDD, 1979: The GDD series switches source in 1979: National Source up to 1978, then WEO 2025 (1979-2024). source
Years each source has a figure here
'01'05'10'15'20'25IMF WEOIMF GDDGDD central

figure no figure here, inside its range no later figure recorded change

Why the numbers differ
  • Gross and net debt: gross debt counts what the government owes; net debt subtracts the financial assets that match debt instruments. For Norway, WEO gives gross debt of 54% of GDP and net debt of -160.39% for 2025; for Canada, 113.58% gross and 10.43% net for 2025. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
  • General and central government: the GDD central government line leaves out state and local governments and, in many countries, social security funds. For Norway the GDD gives 14.88% of GDP for central government in 2024, against 54% for general government in WEO (2025). (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
  • Market and face value: WEO records, country by country, how debt is valued. It gives current market value for Japan and Norway, face value for Germany, France and Italy, and nominal value for the United States and the United Kingdom. Eurostat's Maastricht debt is always at face value and consolidated within general government. When interest rates rise, the market value of existing bonds falls below their face value, so the two measures move apart.
  • Instruments: WEO lists which liabilities each country's gross debt includes. Some include insurance, pension and standardised guarantee schemes and other accounts payable; Maastricht debt counts only currency and deposits, debt securities and loans.
  • Releases: the GDD (September 2025) took most of its recent general government figures from the 2025 WEO, and WEO has since revised them. For Japan the GDD gives 236.66% of GDP for 2024; WEO October 2026 gives 213.59% for the same year and 213.59% for 2024. Lines copied from another line are shown but not counted twice. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
  • Eurostat and WEO for EU countries: WEO says it takes the debt data of several EU members from Eurostat; where it says so, the WEO line is marked as a copy. Small differences remain because Eurostat's October release is later than the data WEO used.
Common mistakes
  • Reading gross debt alone for countries with large government financial assets, such as Norway: the government owns more financial assets than it owes, so net debt is below zero. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
  • Treating WEO forecast years as data: WEO tables run several years ahead. This page keeps only the years WEO marks as actual for each country. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
  • Forgetting that the ratio changes when GDP is revised, even if the debt does not. Istat revised Italy's national accounts in September 2026, and Eurostat flags a break in Italy's series from 2010. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
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From the table How large is each government's debt compared with its economy, and how has it changed since 1980? Updated 2026-10-27.

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Cite as: RealStats, “General government gross debt in Canada”, updated 2026-10-27, with the original sources listed on the page.

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