IMF says global debt at an all-time high of $184 trillion

The global debt has reached an all-time high of USD 184 trillion, with three countries — the United States, China, and Japan — accounting for more than half of it, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday. Earlier this year, the IMF had calculated the global debt to be around USD 182 trillion.

In its latest update, the IMF said the global debt has reached an all-time high of USD 184 trillion. The updated amount, in nominal terms, is the equivalent of 225 percent of the world GDP in 2017.

On average, the world's debt now exceeds 86,000 dollars per person, which is more than two and a half times the average income per-capita. IMF said it is striking that the most indebted economies in the world are also the richer ones.

The top three borrowers in the world (United States, China, and Japan) account for more than half of the global debt, exceeding their share of global output, the IMF said.

The emergence of China among the top ranking is, however, a relatively new development, it said. Since the beginning of the millennium, China’s share in global debt has gone up from less than three percent to over 15 percent, underscoring the rapid credit surge in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.