Global Public Debt Hits Record $92 Trillion

Reuters: Global public debt hits record $92 trillion, UN report says 

LONDON (Reuters) -Global public debt surged to a record $92 trillion in 2022 as governments borrowed to counter crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with the burden being felt acutely by developing countries, a United Nations report said. 

Domestic and external debt worldwide has increased more than five times in the last two decades, outstripping the rate of economic growth, with gross domestic product only tripling since 2002, according to the Wednesday report, released in the run up to a G20 finance ministers and central bank governors' meeting July 14-18. 

"Markets may seem not be suffering – yet. But people are," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters. "Some of the poorest countries in the world are being forced into a choice between servicing their debt, or serving their people."  

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Update: ‘Crushing’ debt crisis spells development disaster for billions: UN chief (UN News)  

WNU Editor: Total global debt is above $300 trillion .... What does ‘global debt’ mean and how high is it now? (World Economic Forum).

Global Debt Now $305 Trillion!

Boom times. Artem Aleshko  

CNBC: Global debt nears record highs as rate hikes trigger ‘crisis of adaptation,’ top trade body says 

* The IIF said the combination of such high debt levels and rising interest rates has driven up the cost of servicing that debt, triggering concerns about leverage in the financial system. 

* “At close to $305 trillion, global debt is now $45 trillion higher than its pre-pandemic level and is expected to continue increasing rapidly,” the IIF said. 

The global debt pile grew by $8.3 trillion in the first quarter to a near-record high of $305 trillion as the global economy faced a “crisis of adaptation” to rapid monetary policy tightening by central banks, according to a closely-watched report from the Institute of International Finance. 

The finance industry body said the combination of such high debt levels and rising interest rates has driven up the cost of servicing that debt, triggering concerns about leverage in the financial system.  

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WNU Editor: For the developed world servicing this debt is becoming a disaster. Not surprising. The Western media is blaming China .... China’s loans pushing world’s poorest countries to brink of collapse (AP).

IMF Says Global Debt Is Projected To Reach 100 Percent Of GDP

The International Monetary Fund headquarters building in Washington, on April 20, 2018. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters)  

Epoch Times: Global Debt Projected to Reach 100 Percent of GDP: IMF 

Global public debt is expected to surge faster than in years prior to the coronavirus pandemic, and to continue rising over the next few years, according to a new report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

In the organization’s latest Fiscal Monitor report, economists stated that while international government debt receded briefly as exorbitant pandemic-era fiscal and monetary policies were wound down, that debt is beginning to increase again. IMF researchers warn that these levels will continue to rise over the next five years. 

The United States and China have mainly contributed to this upward trend. If these economies were excluded from the calculations, “the public debt-to-GDP [gross domestic product] ratio would be going down” worldwide, said Vitor Gaspar, director of the IMF’s fiscal affairs department.

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WNU Editor: And the projection is for more and more debt in the years to come.

The Countries Most In Debt To China

Statista: The Countries Most in Debt to China  

According to World Bank data analyzed by Statista, countries heavily in debt to China are mostly located in Africa, but can also be found in Central Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. As the new preferred lender to low-income countries, China now holds 37 percent of these nations' debt. Just 24 percent of the countries' bilateral debt comes from the rest of the world in 2022.  

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WNU Editor: Venezuela is not included in the above list. It should be. Caracas owes China tens of billions (link here).

Can G-7 Countries Repay The Debt That They Have Accumulated Over The Years And Made Worse By The Pandemic?

As G7 leaders meet in Cornwall to discuss the global economic recovery in the wake of Covid, is it feasible the debt can ever be repaid?https://t.co/87EtvDASgL pic.twitter.com/MUHLVPDStr

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 11, 2021

WNU Editor: To be fair. Almost every country in the world has been running huge deficits before the pandemic started.

S&P Global Says Global Debt Is Set To Reach $200 Trillion

The S&P Global logo is displayed on its offices in the financial district in New York City, U.S., December 13, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo 

Reuters: Global debt to hit $200 trillion - S&P Global 

LONDON (Reuters) - Global debt is set to reach $200 trillion, or 265% of the world’s annual economic output, by the end of the year, S&P Global has forecast - although it doesn’t expect a crisis any time soon. 

The credit ratings giant said it amounted to a 14-point rise as a percentage of world GDP, having been amplified by both the economic plunge caused by COVID and the extra borrowing that governments, firms and households have had to resort to. 

“Global debt-to-GDP has been trending up for many years; the pandemic simply exacerbated the rise,” S&P’s report said. 

Yet, despite the big jump and an expected wave of defaults over the coming year, the firm does not expect a major crisis at this stage. 

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Update: Coronavirus will drive global debt to $200 TRILLION by end of 2020, S&P projects (RT)

WNU Editor: Now we are talking real money.