The magnitude of government debt, and public sector debt likewise, depends on the coverage of instruments used and available data. To accommodate a fair international comparison of related indicators, the IMF, the OECD and the World Bank have agreed to define various debt measures depending on the coverage or non-coverage of instruments: D1 to D4.

The D1-D4 presentation classifies gross government debt and public sector debt into four separate categories, as defined in the 2012 IMF Staff Discussion Note: “What Lies Beneath: The Statistical Definition of Public Sector Debt”. This coverage of instruments according to this classification ranges from a narrow definition including only debt securities and loans (D1) to a fully comprehensive definition covering all six debt instruments (D4), as defined in the Public Sector Debt Statistics Guide for User and Compilers, and the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014.

The magnitude of government debt, and public sector debt likewise, depends on the coverage of instruments used and available data. To accommodate a fair international comparison of related indicators, the IMF, the OECD and the World Bank have agreed to define various debt measures depending on the coverage or non-coverage of instruments: D1 to D4.