Global debt rises 49.2% to $318.4T, GDP up 46% to $110T in 2015-2024
Global debt surged by about 50% over the last decade, outpacing a 46% increase in global gross domestic product (GDP).
Data from the International Institute of Finance (IIF) shows that from the end of 2015 to the end of 2024, global debt rose by 49.2%, from $213.3 trillion to $318.4 trillion, an additional $105 trillion.
Over the last 10 years, global GDP increased by approximately $35 trillion, reaching $110 trillion, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In other words, global debt now exceeds the world’s GDP by three times.
During the same 10-year period, household debt rose by 50% to $60.1 trillion, while debt for non-financial companies grew by 45% to $91.3 trillion. Financial firms saw the smallest increase at 33.4%, reaching $71.4 trillion.
Government debt, meanwhile, surged by 67.7%, rising from $56.8 trillion at the end of 2015 to $95.3 trillion by the end of 2024.
Mature markets’ debt soared by 34.3% to $214.3 trillion as of the end of 2024, and emerging markets’ debt jumped by 92.7% to $103.7 trillion.
As for GDP, advanced economies saw a 41.7% increase, while emerging markets and developing economies posted a 53.2% rise.
The most impactful developments in the span of the past decade were the measures introduced to ease the severe economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While global GDP narrowed by around 2.5% year-on-year in 2020, according to the IMF, global debt rose by 13% over the same period, reaching $291.2 trillion.
Since the World Health Organization declared the pandemic in January 2020, global debt has increased by 23.2%, from $258.4 trillion to $318.4 trillion, according to IIF data.
Over the same period, global GDP expanded by about 26%, IMF figures showed.
World trade also surged during this time, doubling from around $16 trillion to about $33 trillion.
Economy snapshots
The US’ total debt was at $97.83 trillion at the end of 2024, rising by 62.5% over the past decade.
This means the US is responsible for around a third of global debt.
During the same period, the world’s largest economy, the US, grew by 58.4%, which was less than the debt increase.
As for the euro area, total debt rose 22% to $54.5 trillion by the end of 2024.
The eurozone economy expanded by 38.5% in the 10 years, growing faster than debt figures.
The UK’s debt increased by 12.5% over the past decade, while its GDP grew by 22.5%.
Russia’s debt totaled $2.6 trillion as of the end of 2024, rising by 67.7%, while the Russian economy grew by 60.3%.
China’s debt figures rose by 123.4% to $62.4 trillion over the same period, while its GDP expanded by 64.5%, about half the rate of its debt growth.
