India: Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 852.9 billion in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.51 trillion in 2008. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

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

Closest to India in the 2022 ranking

• Australia — 5th of 8: -31.49 billion
• Serbia — 6th of 8: -228.05 billion
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 7th of 8: -2.92 trillion

What this measures

Net lending (+) / net borrowing (–) equals government revenue minus expense, minus net investment in nonfinancial assets. It is also equal to the net result of transactions in financial assets and liabilities. Net lending/net borrowing is a summary measure indicating the extent to which government is either putting financial resources at the disposal of other sectors in the economy or abroad, or utilizing the financial resources generated by other sectors in the economy or from abroad. 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 46 values

Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Bangladesh — -996.26 billion (2021)
• Bhutan — -4.58 billion (2020)
• Maldives — -8.19 billion (2021)
• Nepal — -315.76 billion (2023)
• Sri Lanka — -2.54 trillion (2023)

More public sector data for India

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 2.86 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 92.06 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 8.02 trillion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 2.3% (2025)
• Net acquisition of financial assets (current LCU) — 3.89 trillion (2022)
• Net acquisition of financial assets (% of GDP) — 1.49% (2022)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (current LCU) — 17.63 trillion (2022)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP) — 6.75% (2022)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 2.39 trillion (2022)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is India's net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU)?

-13.74 trillion in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1974?

It is down 2.02 million% from -680 million in 1974. The highest value was 1.92 billion in 1977 and the lowest -13.74 trillion in 2022.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.NLD.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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