Global debt hits record $184 trln: IMF

Global debt has reached an all-time high of $184 trillion in nominal terms or the equivalent of 225 percent of GDP in 2017, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its updated Global Debt Database (GDD).  

On average, the world’s debt now exceeds $86,000 per person—more than 2.5 times the average income per-capita, added the GDD, a comprehensive dataset covering public and private debt for virtually the entire world (190 countries) dating back to the 1950s.

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, it said.