Nonfinancial corporate debt to surplus ratio in G7 economies 2000-2022

Of the G7 economies, nonfinancial corporations in the United States are taking on the highest share of debt relative to their operating surplus, with a debt to surplus ratio of 8.4 in 2021. On the other end of the spectrum are German companies, with a debt to surplus ratio of four in 2022. 

The debt to equity ratio is a measure of companies' capacity to meet the cost of their interest and debt repayments from their operational profits. It is calculated by dividing total outstanding debt of all non-financial corporations by their gross operating surplus, which is the total value of production activities less employee wages. A ratio of 2.5, for example, means that outstanding debt is 2.5 times larger than the annual gross operating surplus.