General government borrowing was $87.3b. Total public sector borrowing was $96.6b. All Australia general government net debt (L2) reached 33.8% as a percentage of GDP.
According to data published by London-based investment fintech Invezz, Japan, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and the US are the top five nations with the highest level of government debt.
As of 31 August 2021 the total gross Australian government debt outstanding was A$834 billion, an increase of about A$273 billion from before 31 December 2019.
In December 2021, Australia recorded a national government net debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio of 36%. This GDP in Australia ratio refers to net government debt. It is calculated by subtracting the sum of interest-bearing liabilities from the total sum of financial assets, such as cash, deposits, and loans.
Australian Government debt was progressively reduced after the Second World War and largely eliminated by the beginning of the 1970s.
China may own as much as 20 per cent of all Australian Government debt according to big Canadian investment bank RBC.
Individuals income tax. Individuals' income tax is the single most important source of government revenue. Since the mid 1970s it has consistently raised around half of the Australian Government's tax receipts and continues to be a stable and predictable source of revenue.
estimates China's total government debt is about $23 trillion, a figure that includes the hidden borrowing of thousands of financing companies set up by provinces and cities.
A flurry of big spending packages and ballooning social welfare costs for a rapidly ageing population have left Japan with a debt pile 263% the size of its economy - double the ratio for the United States and the highest among major economies.
Australian Government debt is owned by a range of Australian and international investors. The AOFM provides information on the share of AGS on issue owned by non-residents on a market-value basis.
At the start of 2007, prior to the Global Financial Crisis, Australian Government gross debt was under $52 billion. Between 2007 and March 2020 total Australian Government Securities (AGS) on issue increased to $580 billion, and is $897 billion as of 5 May 2023.
The world's 12th largest economy
Strong growth in 2021 solidified Australia's position as the world's 12th largest economy in 2021. Nominal GDP was around A$2.2 trillion (US$1.6 trillion) in 2021. Australia is home to just 0.3% of the world's population, but accounts for 1.7% of the global economy.
The most immediate impact is that borrowing cost rises for the nation in the international bond market. If the government itself is borrowing at a higher rate, then the corporates also have to borrow at increased rates.
The countries issue bonds in exchange for the debt. However, owing to an insufficient cash inflow, the country often fails to pay back the principal amount as well as the interest amount of the loan to domestic or international creditors as well as organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
At the end of 2021, of the 98 countries for whom data was available, Pakistan ($27.4 billion of external debt to China), Angola (22.0 billion), Ethiopia (7.4 billion), Kenya (7.4 billion) and Sri Lanka (7.2 billion) held the biggest debts to China.
Our imports usually exceed our exports, giving us a trade deficit. This deficit has to be funded (paid for) either by borrowing from foreigners or by having them make "equity" (ownership) investments in Australian businesses or properties. Of course, when we borrow from foreigners, we have to pay interest on our debts.
Australia's 80 per cent recession risk
Research from the Reserve Bank estimates that Australia's risk of recession over this year and next could be as high as 80 per cent. But policymakers try to be more precise than that, so they use a specific definition of "recession" to say for sure if one has begun.
The former Liberal National government came tantalisingly close to a surplus in 2019, only for COVID-19 to blow a pandemic-sized hole in the accounts and lift the deficit to a record A$134 billion.
Investors in Japan and China hold significant shares of U.S. public debt. Together, as of September 2022, they accounted for nearly $2 trillion, or about 8 percent of DHBP. While China's holdings of U.S. debt have declined over the past decade, Japan has slightly increased their purchases of U.S. Treasury securities.