Britain's debt mountain has grown faster than all other countries except BOTSWANA over the past 25 years

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 16:38, 8 June 2026 | Updated: 16:39, 8 June 2026 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.  Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. The dramatic change in Botswana's debt figures, as shown by the analysis of IMF figures, has been blamed on the collapse in the global market for mined diamonds. Botswana is the world's largest producer of diamonds by value but has seen its economy hit by the increased availability of laboratory-grown alternatives. The United States had the third-biggest increase in net debt as a percentage of GDP between 2001 and 2026, rising from 34.4 per cent to 98.5 per cent - a 64 percentage point increase. Japan (60.8 percentage points), France (59.6), Bolivia (49.1), Namibia (49.0), Finland (45.3), Fiji (44.7), and South Africa (39.1) also experienced significant rises. Senior Tory MP Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, said the UK's growing debt required 'urgent' action from Chancellor Rachel Reeves. He told the Telegraph: 'It's ordinary families who end up paying the price for high debt and crippling interest bills. 'A combination of global crises and profligate Labour governments have left the national debt far too high. 'The response to that should be to urgently balance the books and get debt falling – but Rachel Reeves has done the opposite. Debt is set to rise every year of this parliament.' Robert Jenrick, Reform UK's Treasury spokesman, said: 'Labour and Conservative governments have brought Britain to the edge of bankruptcy, losing control of public spending and failing to deliver any meaningful economic growth. 'They've left the UK with the highest borrowing costs in the G7, spending more than the education and defence budget combined servicing our debt. 'A Reform UK Government will save Britain from bankruptcy by finally cutting wasteful spending - on welfare, Net Zero and migrants - so we can get debt under control and restore confidence in our economy.' Paul Johnson, the former head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank, said: 'The current Government ignored the issue in their manifesto, knowing that they'd have to raise taxes and spending, and then shocking everyone with it afterwards. 'There's a danger we keep repeating that, so long as parties are understandably too scared to confront the electorate with what's really happening.' The Treasury pointed to how the UK was forecast to be reducing borrowing more than any other G7 country between 2025 and 2030, while this year was the first time since 2004 that Britain will be borrowing less than the rest of the G7 on average. A spokesperson said: 'We have the right economic plan - with our actions reducing Government borrowing by over £20 billion last year. 'The economy is in a stronger position to deal with shocks as a result of the Chancellor's decisions.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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