Global debt returning to its rising trend – IMF

The global debt burden retreated for the second year in a row, even though it remains above its already-high pre-pandemic level, Report informs, citing the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The total debt stood at 238 percent of global gross domestic product last year, 9 percentage points higher than in 2019.

In US dollar terms, debt amounted to $235 trillion, or $200 billion above its level in 2021.

Before the pandemic, global debt-to-GDP ratios had risen for decades. Global public debt tripled since the mid-1970s to reach 92 percent of GDP (or just above $91 trillion) by end-2022. Private debt also tripled to 146 percent of GDP (or close to $144 trillion), but over a longer time span between 1960 and 2022.

China played a central role in increasing global debt in recent decades as borrowing outpaced economic growth. Debt as a share of GDP has risen to about the same level as in the United States, while in dollar terms China’s total debt ($47.5 trillion) is still markedly below that of the United States (close to $70 trillion). As for non-financial corporate debt, China’s 28 percent share is the largest in the world.