FACTBOX-Budget deficits of richer G20 nations

Following are facts on some of the richest G20 nations with the largest debt in proportion to the size of their economies, and the measures they are taking to rein in deficits.

UNITED STATES

* U.S. public debt forecast at 63.6 percent of gross domestic product for 2010, 72.9 percent for 2015.

* U.S. 2010 deficit forecast at $1.56 trillion, or 10.6 percent of GDP, for 2010; forecast at $752 billion, or 3.9 percent of GDP, for 2015. (Source: White House budget projections)

* The United States has targets of its own that are close to those which look set to be agreed by the G20.

The United States still boasts a AAA debt rating, but ratings agencies have warned that unless Washington comes up with a credible plan for curtailing spending on health care and retirement benefits, its rating would be in jeopardy.

* President Barack Obama requested 5 percent budget cuts across many government agencies this month. He has called for a three-year freeze on domestic spending but excluded some of the biggest sources of budget strain like defense spending.

* The administration must come up with a plan for mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which essentially became wards of the state after the housing market imploded, and could cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.

JAPAN

* Japan's public debt-to-nominal GDP is forecast at 171.1 percent for 2010/11, forecast at 184.3 to 197 percent for 2015/16, posing a huge challenge for Tokyo to meet the projected debt-cutting targets of the G20.

* Japan's primary budget deficit is forecast at 30.8 trillion yen ($340.3 billion), or 6.4 percent of GDP for 2010/11, forecast at 15-21.8 trillion yen, or 2.7-4.2 percent of nominal GDP, for 2015/16

(Source: Cabinet Office projections)

* Japan's yen-denominated sovereign debt is rated at AA by Standard and Poor's (S&P), Aa2 by Moody's and AA-minus by Fitch. S&P cut its rating outlook on Japan to negative in January, while Fitch and Moody's have threatened to cut their ratings unless Japan shows a credible plan to rein in debt.

* Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government compiled a fiscal plan calling for bringing the primary budget balance into the black by 2020/21 and lowering the debt-to-GDP ratio from 2021/22. But the government said the targets could not be met even under its rosiest scenario, the latest indication that Tokyo will have to push through contentious sales tax hikes.

GERMANY

* German public debt-to-GDP forecast at 76.5 percent for 2010, forecast at 82 percent for 2013.

* German 2010 total public deficit forecast at 5.5 percent of GDP, forecast at just under 3 percent of GDP for 2013

(Source:Germany Finance Ministry's Jan 2010 update to the "German Stability Programme")

* Germany is rated AAA. Moody's said in March that its credit rating alongside the other three largest AAA-rated sovereign debt issuers (United States, Britain and France) was safe, but risks to their blue-chip status had grown, with their ability to manage debt as the deciding factor.

* The German government debt forecasts, which have not yet been updated, were based on a growth forecast of 1.4 percent for 2010, but more recent forecasts, including from the Ifo institute, point to growth of 2 percent or more. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said federal net new borrowing for 2010 could be some 15 billion euros lower than estimated.

* Chancellor Angela Merkel launched an 80 billion euro savings package this month targeting budget cuts and taxes over the next four years but faces a challenge getting parliament to approve it.

BRITAIN

* British 2010/11 debt-to-GDP forecast at 61.9 percent, rising to 67.4 percent by 2015/16

* Britian's budget deficit, or its public sector net borrowing, is forecast to be 149 billion pounds, or 10.1 percent of GDP, falling to 20 billion pounds, or 1.1 percent of GDP, in 2015/16

* Britain retains its AAA debt rating, though Standard & Poor's gave it a negative outlook after the 2009 budget. Preserving the AAA rating was a major Conservative Party theme in their campaign ahead of a May 6 elections, which the Labour Party lost after 13 years in office.

* Ratings agencies have given a broadly positive reaction to a stepped-up package of spending cuts and tax rises announced in Conservative finance minister George Osborne's 2010 budget.

* Implementing spending cuts, which could see some government departments lose a quarter of their budget over five years, will be a major political challenge.

FRANCE

* France's public debt-to-GDP ratio is forecast at 83.2 percent for 2010 and at 86.6 percent in 2013

* France's deficit is forecast at 8 percent of GDP for 2010, 6 percent in 2011 and 4.6 percent in 2012. It is forecast to be within the European Union's 3-percent-of-GDP limit by 2013.

* Speculation over a possible downgrade to France's AAA sovereign debt rating rose in early June after comments from the Budget Minister Francois Baroin, who said maintaining it would be "tight." The government has since looked to reassure markets that its rating was not in question.

* France is aiming to raise the retirement age and increase taxes in a reform aimed at salvaging the nation's indebted pensions, but it faces union backlash.

President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced plans to freeze spending over the next three years, cut state operating costs by 10 percent and save another 5 billion euros from eliminating certain tax exemptions. A Sarkozy adviser said on June 21 a new round of spending cuts would also be announced soon.

(Compiled by Reuters G7 bureaus)