Lebanon: Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Lebanon's claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) fell 56.76 percentage points on 2017 (from 93.82% to 37.06%).

Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1989 to 2017), the average change was +2.71 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 10.86 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 5.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 28.63 percentage points in 1989 and the biggest yearly fall was 56.76 percentage points in 2018. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 9% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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 31 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 Lebanon

• Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$89,500 (2025)
• Net foreign assets (current LCU) — 51.57 trillion (2017)
• Claims on central government (annual growth as % of broad money) — -21.28% (2018)
• Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 160.19 trillion (2017)
• Broad money (current LCU) — 208.34 trillion (2017)
• Claims on private sector (annual growth as % of broad money) — 2.5% (2017)
• Broad money (annual % growth) — 4.21% (2017)
• DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$89,500 (2025)
• Deposit interest rate (%) — 9.7% (2019)
• Lending interest rate (%)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Lebanon's claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP)?

37.06% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1988?

It is up 21.72 percentage points from 15.34% in 1988. The highest value was 122.11% in 2006 and the lowest 15.34% in 1988.

Is the latest change in claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) unusual for Lebanon?

In 2018, Lebanon's claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) fell 56.76 percentage points on 2017 (from 93.82% to 37.06%). Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1989 to 2017), the average change was +2.71 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 10.86 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 5.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Where does this data come from?

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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