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World’s debt exceeds $86,000 per person: IMF
WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) pointed out that global debt has reached an all-time high of $184 trillion, in a recent updation of its Global Debt Database on Friday.
The data showed that on an average, the world’s debt now exceeds $86,000 per person — more than two and half times the average income per-capita.
The updated figure equals 225 per cent of the global GDP in 2017.
“The top three borrowers in the world (United States, China, and Japan) account for more than half of global debt, exceeding their share of global output,” said an IMF statement released with the data.
The dataset comprises total gross debt of the (private and public) nonfinancial sector for an unbalanced panel of 190 advanced economies, emerging market economies and low-income countries, dating back to 1950. The update offers for the first time a glimpse of global debt developments up to 2017.
“By including both the sovereign and private sides of borrowing for the entire world, the database offers an unprecedented picture of global debt in the post-World War II era,” said a statement issued with the data.
The figure released on Friday — $184tr — is $2tr higher than the estimated number IMF released in October, because it includes end of 2017 data and the debts of several countries who had not previously reported their updated data.
On Dec 1, the IMF had put the global debt at $182tr, warning highly indebted emerging-markets and low-income countries against what it termed pro-cyclical fiscal policies.
In a recent speech at the G20 summit in Argentina, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, identified rising global debt as one of the challenges that world leaders had to address.
She said she was concerned that the total value of global debt has rocketed by 60 per cent in the decade since the financial crisis reached an all-time high. The build-up has made governments and business in the developing world more vulnerable to higher US interest rates, which could trigger a flight of funds and destabilise their economies.
Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2018
Comments (11) Closed
Interesting facts.
and who is the lender of this US $ 184 Trillion? This is only a vicious web of IMF or "rich countries". They create a threat among the neighbors, sell arms on credit to each of them, show support for each of them and then kill the stronger one to eliminate any possible threat. However, loans keep on increasing with each number of enemy.
Nations should stand up and learn to live a simple but a dignified life.
Who do we owe all this debt to...
The US can't possibly repay it's $21 trillion debt, it's economy doesn't produce very much. China's national debt of $5.2 trillion is also quite huge. And how is it that debt keeps going up and up, to astronomical levels.
To whom do we owe that amount? How much is the actual figure and how much interest has accumulated over the same over the span of time? The super power is just printing its currency notes which have no backing to repay the owner of the same in real value terms.
@Qasim, "The US can't possibly repay it's $21 trillion debt, it's economy doesn't produce very much"
Really? You must be from another Galaxy! A $14 Tillion economy, doesn't 'produce much'?
Have you even thought about how much Pakistan produces per year, compared to its total debt!?
How can a country be the richest and owes the most money. The poor are paying for the the USA, who are giving paper money to the rest of the world and stealing their goods.
@parveez shafi, "How can a country be the richest and owes the most money" [sic]?
Same reason, oil-rich Saudis and UAE have foreign loans to finance mega projects,build tall towers, fancy malls and theme parks.
Tell me which country in the world does not have any debt??
In other words, world survives on debt..?
What's Pakistan's contribution in this?
@Lost cause, but who thrives on debt? This is the real question.
Shouldn't total debt be a zero sum game? If there is a borrower, there must be a lender, so shouldn't net debt be zero by definition? Somebody explain please.