🇩🇪 Germany

Public Sector Debt · 2026

Total Debt

74.0%

of GDP

Global Rank

#57

of 192

Interest Burden

of govt revenue

S&P Rating

AAA

Credit rating

SOE Debt

+11.8%

2 categories

5yr Change

-5pp

improving

Interest Cost

1.1%

of GDP (govt only)

Where the Debt Sits

Central Government

Subnational

Dev Banks

Central Government: 42.2%Subnational: 20.0%Dev Banks: 11.1%Infrastructure: 0.7%

Who Holds This Debt

Holder Breakdown

Domestic 50%

Foreign 50%

Domestic: 50%Foreign: 50%

Currency Denomination

Local 100%

Local currency: 100%Foreign currency: 0%

Full Debt Breakdown

Central Government42.2% of GDP

Bunds (Federal Bonds)Eurostat — Government Debt (Maastricht)7-30yr. Euro-area benchmark; 66% of portfolio.

27.8%

Bobl (Federal Notes)Eurostat — Government Debt (Maastricht)5-year notes. 14% of securities.

6.0%

Schatz (Treasury Notes)Eurostat — Government Debt (Maastricht)2-year notes. 8% of securities.

3.4%

Other (Green, inflation-linked)Eurostat — Government Debt (Maastricht)Green bonds, inflation-linked, legacy.

2.9%

Bubill (Discount Paper)Eurostat — Government Debt (Maastricht)Under 12-month maturity.

2.1%

Subnational / Regional20.0% of GDP

SubnationalEurostat — Government Debt (Maastricht)

20.0%

Infrastructure SOEs0.7% of GDP

Deutsche Bahn (railways)Deutsche Bahn Integrated Report 2023100% federally owned. €33B net financial debt. Largest railway operator in Europe.

0.7%

Development Banks11.1% of GDP

KfW (development bank)KfW Annual Report 2023→100% government-owned development bank. €480B+ in outstanding bonds. Explicitly guaranteed by federal government.

11.1%

Total Corporate Debt89.5% of GDP

Nonfinancial corporate debt (total)BIS Credit Statistics Q3 2025Total NFC credit. SOE portion small (KfW, Deutsche Bahn).

89.5%

Household Debt49.1% of GDP

Household debtBIS Credit Statistics Q3 2025Low — Germans are culturally conservative borrowers.

49.1%

Unfunded Pension Liabilities320.0% of GDP

Public pension unfunded entitlements (est.)Destatis / Bundesbank, Eurostat Table 29 (2021)Nearly pure PAYG system. Total accrued entitlements ~EUR 12T (~333% GDP). Small funded occupational portion ~13% GDP. Net unfunded ~320%. NOTE: This is the present value of ALL promised pensions, not conventional debt.

320.0%

All Layers Total532.6%