Portfolio

Visualizing Government Debt Using Tableau

Each of the following visualizations uses data from the OECD detailing countries’ debt as a percentage of their GDP. The first visualization shows how each country relates to one another in terms of their debt-to-GDP ratio in 2014. The second is a heat map displaying the same information from 1995 to 2022. To represent the higher amount of risk associated with high debt-toGDP ratios, those below 100% are colored blue while those above 100% are shaded orange. Whereas the first bar chart allows for the raw comparison for a given year, the second visual gives insight about trends on a macro level. Similarly, the third graphic displays how countries’ debt-to-GDP ratio has grown or shrank from 1995 to 2022. Although the same information is present on the second graphic, the third displays it in a way that is simpler for the viewer to grasp and that does not require them to perform arithmetic.

Visualization 1

Visualization 2

Debt-to-GDP Ratio Rising in Many CountriesSource: OECD (2024), General government debt (indicator). doi: 10.1787/a0528cc2-en (Accessed on 29 January 2024)

Visualization 3

Debt-to-GDP Ratio Mostly Increased Since 1995Change in % point using all countries' participating yearsSource: OECD (2024), General government debt (indicator). doi: 10.1787/a0528cc2-en (Accessed on 29 January 2024)

I chose to make a horizontal bar chart that compares countries according to how much their debt-to-GDP ratio has grown or shrank. While this information can be found within the second visualization, this one, as previously mentioned, conveys the same message in a more convienient way for the viewer that does not require them to perform arithmetic. A horizontal bar chart also does a better job of showing the magnitude of differences from 1995 to 2022 relative to both other countries and its own baseline.

The chart shows that 31 of the 41 included countries experienced a growth in debt as a percentage of GDP, with the remainder saw decline. Japan saw the most dramatic increase with a gain of 161 percentage points, followed by Greece at a +95 points and the United States at +50 points. At the opposite end of the spectrum are Denmark with a 47 point decrease, tailed by Belgium at -37 points and the Netherlands at -32 points. The majority of included countries (24) experienced a debt-to-GDP ratio growth of between 0 and 40 percentage points.