Countries with No (or Very Low) National Debt 2025
A handful of countries operate with near-zero government debt, but this is almost never a sign of fiscal virtue — it usually reflects either enormous resource wealth, authoritarian opacity, or economic structures too undeveloped to support a bond market.
Data & analysis
- Liechtenstein — 0.50
- Brunei Darussalam — 2.33
- Tuvalu — 3.64
- Turkmenistan — 3.86
- Kuwait — 7.29
- Kiribati — 8.72
In 2025, the nations with the lowest government debt-to-GDP ratios are overwhelmingly small, resource-rich, or geographically isolated economies. Liechtenstein leads at 0.5 percent, a microstate with a highly specialized financial services sector and no need for large-scale sovereign borrowing. Brunei Darussalam, at 2.333 percent, similarly relies on substantial oil and gas revenues to fund state operations without accruing debt. What binds these leaders is a combination of small populations, abundant natural resource wealth, or unique fiscal policies that allow for budget surpluses. The bottom of the list, by contrast, often includes larger or more diversified economies that must issue debt to finance infrastructure, social programs, or counter cyclical downturns. Over the next decade, the leaderboard could be reshuffled by commodity price volatility, the depletion of non-renewable resources, or the fiscal pressures of climate adaptation in small island states like Tuvalu.
Key Takeaways
- Resource-rich microstates (Brunei, Macau) have no need to borrow due to concentrated wealth and tiny populations.
- Several low-debt countries lack functioning bond markets, meaning they couldn't borrow even if they wanted to.
- Some moderate debt is generally considered optimal: government bonds provide safe assets for the financial system and allow countercyclical fiscal policy.
- Low-debt developing countries may actually be underinvesting in infrastructure and human capital that would yield high returns.