Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD): Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD)'s claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) fell 1.8 percentage points on 2020 (from 6.52% to 4.72%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1977 to 2020), the average change was −0.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.01 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 10.08 percentage points in 1984 and the biggest yearly fall was 14.9 percentage points in 1986. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.61 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 70% 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

See how every economy compares in the full 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 50 values

Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — -8.32% (2020)
• Algeria — 42.42% (2025)
• Bahrain — 16.44% (2015)
• Djibouti — 6.23% (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 48.18% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 8.16% (2016)
• Iraq — 7.17% (2024)
• Israel — 13.18% (2025)
• Jordan — 27.03% (2025)
• Kuwait — -16.91% (2025)

More financial sector data for Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD)

• Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 48.49% (2021)
• Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 48.5% (2021)
• Broad money (% of GDP) — 64.34% (2020)
• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 4.77% (2025)
• Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 4.33% (2025)
• Listed domestic companies, total — 2,091 (2023)
• Stocks traded, turnover ratio of domestic shares (%) — 129.35% (2024)
• Bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD)'s claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP)?

4.72% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 0.89 percentage points from 3.83% in 1960. The highest value was 20.73% in 1985 and the lowest -3.65% in 2008.

Is the latest change in claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) unusual for Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD)?

In 2021, Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD)'s claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) fell 1.8 percentage points on 2020 (from 6.52% to 4.72%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1977 to 2020), the average change was −0.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.01 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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