OrganisationUS
International Monetary Fund
An international financial institution monitoring the global economy.
Last refreshed: 27 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Key Question
Why is the UK missing from the IMF's own debt comparison table?
Timeline for International Monetary Fund
#1 26 Jul
We left the UK row of the table empty
Is Britain Actually Broke?#1 20 Jul
Mentioned in: Britain owes 95p for every £1 it makes
Is Britain Actually Broke?Background
The International Monetary Fund is the international body that monitors the global economy and publishes standardised cross-country comparisons, including its World Economic Outlook debt tables. Its published tables, statistical appendix and DataMapper interface returned access errors across five URLs on two separate attempts, leaving the UK's row empty in an April 2026 debt comparison against Japan, Italy, the United States, France, Canada and Germany. The gap is a data-access failure, not evidence either way about UK debt.
Common Questions
Why was the UK missing from the IMF's debt table?
The IMF's WEO tables, statistical appendix and DataMapper all returned access errors on five URLs across two attempts, leaving the UK row blank.Source: IMF
What does the IMF's World Economic Outlook measure?
It is the IMF's standardised cross-country comparison of government debt and other economic indicators, using its own definitions.
Which countries were compared in the April 2026 debt table?
Japan, Italy, the United States, France, Canada and Germany, with the UK's row Left empty due to access errors.Source: IMF