Both debt views are far below their 1990s highs. They differ in how they count public pension funds. Know what is in the number before judging it.
Time covered: 1994 · Quarter 2 — 2026 · Quarter 2
Showing: 1994 · Quarter 2 — 2026 · Quarter 2
With public pension funds
13.5Last point · Net debt as a share of GDP, percentChange over 10 years: -30.7 percentage points2016 · Quarter 2 → 2026 · Quarter 2
Without public pension funds
44.6Last point · Net debt as a share of GDP, percentChange over 10 years: -17.1 percentage points2016 · Quarter 2 → 2026 · Quarter 2
Net debt as a share of GDP, percent
A change from 6% to 7% is one percentage point.
Two lines show net government debt as a share of GDP from 1994. One includes public pension funds. The other leaves them out.
Dated release · Checked:
This table has the same values as the chart. You can scroll the table sideways.
| Time | With public pension funds | Without public pension funds |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 · Quarter 2 | 89.4% | 97% |
| 1994 · Quarter 3 | 88.7% | 96% |
| 1994 · Quarter 4 | 90.6% | 97.6% |
| 1995 · Quarter 1 | 93.1% | 99.8% |
| 1995 · Quarter 2 | 94.1% | 100.8% |
| 1995 · Quarter 3 | 93.2% | 99.9% |
| 1995 · Quarter 4 | 92% | 98.8% |
| 1996 · Quarter 1 | 95.9% | 102.3% |
| 1996 · Quarter 2 | 95.4% | 102.1% |
| 1996 · Quarter 3 | 96.7% | 103.2% |
| 1996 · Quarter 4 | 96.5% | 102.9% |
| 1997 · Quarter 1 | 95% | 101.1% |
| 1997 · Quarter 2 | 92.3% | 98.3% |
| 1997 · Quarter 3 | 90.3% | 96.2% |
| 1997 · Quarter 4 | 90.4% | 96.3% |
| 1998 · Quarter 1 | 89.8% | 95.4% |
| 1998 · Quarter 2 | 89.7% | 95.5% |
| 1998 · Quarter 3 | 88.9% | 94.8% |
| 1998 · Quarter 4 | 88.7% | 94.4% |
| 1999 · Quarter 1 | 85.4% | 91% |
| 1999 · Quarter 2 | 81.7% | 87.6% |
| 1999 · Quarter 3 | 79% | 84.6% |
| 1999 · Quarter 4 | 75.5% | 80.9% |
| 2000 · Quarter 1 | 71.9% | 77.9% |
| 2000 · Quarter 2 | 69.4% | 75.3% |
| 2000 · Quarter 3 | 66.9% | 72.8% |
| 2000 · Quarter 4 | 66.5% | 72.1% |
| 2001 · Quarter 1 | 65.7% | 71.4% |
| 2001 · Quarter 2 | 62.6% | 68.6% |
| 2001 · Quarter 3 | 63.6% | 69.6% |
| 2001 · Quarter 4 | 64% | 69.9% |
| 2002 · Quarter 1 | 63.7% | 69.8% |
| 2002 · Quarter 2 | 64.1% | 70.2% |
| 2002 · Quarter 3 | 65.2% | 70.9% |
| 2002 · Quarter 4 | 64.1% | 69.8% |
| 2003 · Quarter 1 | 62.7% | 68.7% |
| 2003 · Quarter 2 | 63% | 69.4% |
| 2003 · Quarter 3 | 60.2% | 66.8% |
| 2003 · Quarter 4 | 59.1% | 65.8% |
| 2004 · Quarter 1 | 59.5% | 66.8% |
| 2004 · Quarter 2 | 57% | 64.4% |
| 2004 · Quarter 3 | 55.8% | 63.2% |
| 2004 · Quarter 4 | 54.8% | 62.4% |
| 2005 · Quarter 1 | 53.3% | 61.3% |
| 2005 · Quarter 2 | 53.1% | 61.5% |
| 2005 · Quarter 3 | 50.7% | 59.4% |
| 2005 · Quarter 4 | 49.2% | 57.7% |
| 2006 · Quarter 1 | 47.6% | 56.7% |
| 2006 · Quarter 2 | 46.4% | 55.3% |
| 2006 · Quarter 3 | 45.4% | 54.7% |
| 2006 · Quarter 4 | 44.3% | 54% |
| 2007 · Quarter 1 | 43.1% | 53.4% |
| 2007 · Quarter 2 | 40.6% | 51.1% |
| 2007 · Quarter 3 | 40.1% | 50.4% |
| 2007 · Quarter 4 | 40.6% | 50.6% |
| 2008 · Quarter 1 | 41.2% | 51.3% |
| 2008 · Quarter 2 | 39.7% | 50% |
| 2008 · Quarter 3 | 39.5% | 48.8% |
| 2008 · Quarter 4 | 43.2% | 51.4% |
| 2009 · Quarter 1 | 45.9% | 54.2% |
| 2009 · Quarter 2 | 46.6% | 55.8% |
| 2009 · Quarter 3 | 48.3% | 58% |
| 2009 · Quarter 4 | 49.8% | 59.6% |
| 2010 · Quarter 1 | 50.6% | 60.8% |
| 2010 · Quarter 2 | 51% | 61% |
| 2010 · Quarter 3 | 52% | 62.6% |
| 2010 · Quarter 4 | 52% | 62.6% |
| 2011 · Quarter 1 | 51% | 62% |
| 2011 · Quarter 2 | 52.5% | 63.6% |
| 2011 · Quarter 3 | 54.6% | 65.4% |
| 2011 · Quarter 4 | 55.9% | 66.7% |
| 2012 · Quarter 1 | 54.9% | 66.2% |
| 2012 · Quarter 2 | 56.2% | 67.6% |
| 2012 · Quarter 3 | 55% | 66.5% |
| 2012 · Quarter 4 | 55.2% | 66.9% |
| 2013 · Quarter 1 | 54% | 66.4% |
| 2013 · Quarter 2 | 51% | 63.7% |
| 2013 · Quarter 3 | 48.3% | 61% |
| 2013 · Quarter 4 | 47.5% | 60.5% |
| 2014 · Quarter 1 | 45.4% | 59.4% |
| 2014 · Quarter 2 | 44.8% | 59.1% |
| 2014 · Quarter 3 | 43.3% | 57.8% |
| 2014 · Quarter 4 | 45.2% | 59.9% |
| 2015 · Quarter 1 | 45.2% | 61.3% |
| 2015 · Quarter 2 | 42.1% | 58.6% |
| 2015 · Quarter 3 | 40.9% | 57.5% |
| 2015 · Quarter 4 | 41.3% | 58.5% |
| 2016 · Quarter 1 | 43% | 60% |
| 2016 · Quarter 2 | 44.2% | 61.7% |
| 2016 · Quarter 3 | 43.9% | 62.1% |
| 2016 · Quarter 4 | 41.9% | 59.8% |
| 2017 · Quarter 1 | 39.3% | 58.1% |
| 2017 · Quarter 2 | 37.9% | 56.8% |
| 2017 · Quarter 3 | 33.7% | 52.5% |
| 2017 · Quarter 4 | 34.1% | 53.2% |
| 2018 · Quarter 1 | 33.1% | 53% |
| 2018 · Quarter 2 | 31.5% | 51.7% |
| 2018 · Quarter 3 | 29.5% | 49.5% |
| 2018 · Quarter 4 | 31.4% | 51.2% |
| 2019 · Quarter 1 | 32.3% | 53.2% |
| 2019 · Quarter 2 | 32.6% | 53.8% |
| 2019 · Quarter 3 | 32.7% | 54.2% |
| 2019 · Quarter 4 | 31.2% | 53% |
| 2020 · Quarter 1 | 36.2% | 57.2% |
| 2020 · Quarter 2 | 42.9% | 66% |
| 2020 · Quarter 3 | 43.6% | 68% |
| 2020 · Quarter 4 | 44.2% | 69.8% |
| 2021 · Quarter 1 | 38.4% | 64.7% |
| 2021 · Quarter 2 | 38% | 64.1% |
| 2021 · Quarter 3 | 34.5% | 60.7% |
| 2021 · Quarter 4 | 32.6% | 58.6% |
| 2022 · Quarter 1 | 26.9% | 51.9% |
| 2022 · Quarter 2 | 21.9% | 45.3% |
| 2022 · Quarter 3 | 19.4% | 42.2% |
| 2022 · Quarter 4 | 19.1% | 41.9% |
| 2023 · Quarter 1 | 19.6% | 43.4% |
| 2023 · Quarter 2 | 17.4% | 41.3% |
| 2023 · Quarter 3 | 15.3% | 39.1% |
| 2023 · Quarter 4 | 19.7% | 44.1% |
| 2024 · Quarter 1 | 18.3% | 43.9% |
| 2024 · Quarter 2 | 17.2% | 43% |
| 2024 · Quarter 3 | 18% | 44.7% |
| 2024 · Quarter 4 | 17.4% | 44.7% |
| 2025 · Quarter 1 | 17.9% | 45.3% |
| 2025 · Quarter 2 | 16.2% | 44% |
| 2025 · Quarter 3 | 15% | 44% |
| 2025 · Quarter 4 | 15.7% | 44.6% |
| 2026 · Quarter 1 | 15.8% | 45% |
| 2026 · Quarter 2 | 13.5% | 44.6% |
Past gains show that change is possible. We still need honest costs and clear results from public spending. People should know what their money buys and who will pay future bills.
Show full public costs and service results. Fund useful work and stop programmes that do not deliver.
Source released:
WAKE UP CANADA
Help more people see the facts and the plan.
Both debt views are far below their 1990s highs. They differ in how they count public pension funds. Know what is in the number before judging it.
Keep the source, date and notes with the image.
Checked:
What this does not show: These views overlap, so do not add them. Net debt is not gross debt. Pension assets are meant to pay future pensions. They are not free cash for other spending.
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