Britain’s debt mountain has grown faster than any other country except Botswana over the past 25 years, an analysis of data shows.
Between 2001 and 2026, the UK’s net debt as a percentage of GDP tripled from 30.4 per cent to 95.5 per cent, according to figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The 65 percentage point rise was second only to Botswana, which experienced an astonishing 167.1 percentage point rise over the same period.
The African country was a notable outlier in the data as its net debt as a percentage of GDP grew from -121.9 per cent in 2001, when it ran a large budget surplus, to 45.2 per cent this year.
The UK’s position almost at the top of the global debt league table – of countries for which a full set of IMF data was available over the past 25 years – sparked fresh warnings about the parlous state of Britain’s public finances.
According to separate data from the Office for National Statistics, published last month, UK Government borrowing in April was £4.9 billion higher than a year earlier.
This meant it was the second highest April level on record – surpassed only during the Covid pandemic, when borrowing was sent rocketing.
Meanwhile, interest costs on Government debt hit £10.3billion, a record April high and £900 million more than a year ago, as rising inflation impacted index-linked gilts.