Definition

Government debt can be measured in terms of either the government's gross financial liabilities or its net financial liabilities, i.e. gross financial liabilities less financial assets. The data shown here refer to gross financial liabilities as a percentage of GDP. For most countries, gross financial liabilities refer to the liabilities (short and long-term) of all the institutions in the general government sector, as defined in the 1993 System of National Accounts (SNA) or in the 1995 European System of Accounts (ESA).

This definition differs from the definition of debt applied under the Maastricht Treaty. First, gross debt according to the Maastricht definition excludes trade credits and advances, as well as shares and insurance technical reserves. Second, government bonds according to the Maastricht definition are valued at nominal rather than market value (or issue price plus accrued interest) as required by the SNA rules. The United States and Canada also value government bonds at their nominal value.

The general government sector consists mainly of central, state and local government units together with social security funds controlled by those units. In principle, debts within and between different levels of government are consolidated. In other terms, a loan from one level of government to another represents both an asset for the first level and a liability for the second, and they cancel out (i.e. it is "consolidated") for the general government sector as a whole. See the OECD Economic Outlook Sources and Methods (www.oecd.org/eco/sources-and-methods) for more details.

For more statistics on economic, environmental and social issues visit online the OECD Factbook 2010.