Australia's claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) was 7.99% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 6.5 percentage points from 1.49% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 7.99% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 8.84% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 1.49% | 2015 |
| Highest | 19.68% | 1962 |
| Lowest | -2.78% | 2006 |
| Average since 2016 | 7.72% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 19.21% | 1960 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Australia's claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) fell 0.68 percentage points on 2024 (from 8.67% to 7.99%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.87 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 5.85 percentage points in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.47 percentage points in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.78 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 41% 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.
How it compares
In 2025, Australia had the 66th highest value of the 106 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 7.99% | 2025 |
| World | 39.8% | 2024 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 49.42% | 2024 |
| High income | 43.12% | 2024 |
Closest to Australia in the 2025 ranking
What this measures
Claims on central government include loans to central government institutions net of deposits. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 66 values
| Year | Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 7.99 |
| 2024 | 8.67 |
| 2023 | 9.16 |
| 2022 | 11.22 |
| 2021 | 14.69 |
| 2020 | 8.84 |
| 2019 | 6.18 |
| 2018 | 4.39 |
| 2017 | 2.95 |
| 2016 | 3.09 |
| 2015 |
Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) in nearby economies
- Brunei Darussalam — 33.27% (2025)
- Cambodia — -11.72% (2025)
- China — 45.99% (2024)
- Fiji — 43.37% (2025)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — -18.42% (2025)
- Indonesia — 12.29% (2025)
- Japan — 116.59% (2025)
- Korea, Rep. — 3.37% (2024)
- Macao SAR, China — -79.46% (2025)
- Malaysia — 17.58% (2025)
More financial sector data for Australia
- Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 133.79% (2025)
- Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 5.96 trillion (2025)
- Net foreign assets (current LCU) — -136.13 billion (2025)
- Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 133.79% (2025)
- Broad money (current LCU) — 3.7 trillion (2025)
- Broad money (% of GDP) — 133.12% (2025)
- Broad money to total reserves ratio — 32.96 (2025)
- Consumer price index (2010 = 100) — 148.46 (2025)
- Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 2.87% (2025)
- Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Australia's claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP)?
- 7.99% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is down 11.22 percentage points from 19.21% in 1960. The highest value was 19.68% in 1962 and the lowest -2.78% in 2006.
- How does Australia rank?
- 66th highest of 106 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) unusual for Australia?
- In 2025, Australia's claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) fell 0.68 percentage points on 2024 (from 8.67% to 7.99%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.87 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FS.AST.CGOV.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators Database, World Bank (WB); National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 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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