U.S and China owe half of world’s $235tr debts

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday announced that the United States (U.S.A) and China account for half of the world’s total indebtedness of $235 trillion, with both countries owing $117.5 trillion.

In its global debt update, titled: Global Debt Is Returning to its Rising Trend, the global monetary fund said in a space of one year from 2021, global debt position rose by $200 billion to $235 trillion, equivalent of 238 per cent of the world’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP), as of 2022.

According to the global financial institution, this is nine percentage points higher than in 2019.

But the IMF laid the weight of the rising cause of global debt on developed nations, fingering China and U.S.A contributing $47.5 trillion and $70 trillion to the debt basket.

It said debt in low-income developing countries has risen “significantly in the last two decades,” adding: “The pace of their increases since the global financial crisis has created challenges and vulnerabilities.”