Debt, Development and Double Standards: A Comparative Analysis of Pakistan, India and Japan
Debt, Development and Double Standards: A Comparative Analysis of Pakistan, India and Japan Introduction: Is Pakistan Really the “Most Indebted” Country? Pakistan is frequently portrayed in public debate as a country drowning in debt. A common statement heard in political discussions and on social media is: “Every Pakistani child is born with hundreds of thousands of rupees of debt.” There is a mathematical basis for calculating a country’s debt on a per-person basis, but presenting this number without explaining the broader economic context can create a seriously misleading impression. Debt by itself does not determine whether an economy is healthy or unhealthy. Japan, for example, has one of the highest government-debt ratios in the developed world. According to the IMF’s April 2026 World Economic Outlook, Japan’s general government gross debt is approximately 204.4% of GDP . India’s ratio is about 83.4% , while Pakistan’s is about 70.1% . ( IMF ) Therefore, if debt-to-GDP is ...