Australia: Central government debt, total (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Australia's central government debt, total (current LCU) fell 7.4% on 2021 (from 1.46 trillion to 1.35 trillion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +13.3% and a typical year strayed about 19.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 94.2% in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 14.4% in 1998. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is upward, about 99.93 billion a year. A straight line explains 95% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 1.73 trillion for 2025. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2020 to 2022 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 120.39 billion, against 222.77 billion for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

What this measures

Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a flow, it is measured as of a given date, usually the last day of the fiscal year. Central government is the part of general government that includes all administrative departments of the national executive, legislative, and judicial functions, other central agencies and those non-market producers controlled by the central government, whose competence extends normally over the whole economic territory. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

All 33 values

Central government debt, total (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Korea, Rep. — 1,222.54 trillion (2024)
• Malaysia — 1.25 trillion (2024)
• Marshall Islands — 96.8 million (2019)
• Micronesia, Fed. Sts. — 103.65 million (2020)
• Mongolia — 34.96 trillion (2024)
• New Zealand — 224.61 billion (2024)
• Palau — 240.22 million (2019)
• Papua New Guinea — 61.72 billion (2024)
• Singapore — 1.28 trillion (2024)
• Solomon Islands

More public sector data for Australia

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 826 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 35.33 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 54.81 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.92% (2025)
• Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 108 million (2025)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 19.74 billion (2022)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 0.84% (2022)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) — -31.49 billion (2022)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -1.35% (2022)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Australia's central government debt, total (current LCU)?

1.35 trillion in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 2,634% from 49.49 billion in 1990 (10.89% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 1.46 trillion in 2021 and the lowest 49.49 billion in 1990.

Is the latest change in central government debt, total (current LCU) unusual for Australia?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.DOD.TOTL.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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