Japan vs North America: Claims on central government, etc.
Japan
117.4%
in 2025
North America
54.2%
in 2025
Japan rank
1st
North America rank
1st
Claims on central government, etc. over time
- Japan
- North America
How they compare
Japan currently reports 117.4% against 54.2% in North America, a difference of 63.2%.
That makes Japan's figure about 2.2 times North America's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was North America ahead.
Japan ranks 1st and North America ranks 1st of 187 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 5 and North America in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | North America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.7% | 20.0% | 17.3% | North America |
| 1970s | 12.2% | 13.7% | 1.5% | North America |
| 1980s | 31.5% | 18.4% | 13.1% | Japan |
| 1990s | 37.9% | 24.2% | 13.7% | Japan |
| 2000s | 70.9% | 19.6% | 51.3% | Japan |
| 2010s | 128.2% | 35.2% | 93.0% | Japan |
| 2020s | 138.7% | 53.3% | 85.4% | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher claims on central government, etc., Japan or North America?
- Japan, at 117.4% against 54.2% in North America as of 2025.
- What is the difference in claims on central government, etc. between Japan and North America?
- 63.2%, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and North America?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do Japan and North America rank globally for claims on central government, etc.?
- Japan ranks 1st and North America ranks 1st of 187 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as Claims on central government, etc. (% GDP). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
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.