09/26/2026
BREAKING: Global debt jumped by more than +$10 trillion in H1 2026, to a record $365 trillion.
Emerging-market debt drove the increase, rising +$6.5 trillion, to a record $110 trillion, with most of the surge coming from governments and non-financial companies.
Excluding China, emerging-market and developing-economy debt soared to a record $38 trillion.
Global debt now stands at ~310% of global GDP, although the ratio has fallen -25 percentage points from its early-2021 peak, largely because inflation has boosted nominal GDP rather than because of deleveraging.
Meanwhile, developed economies paid more than $3.3 trillion in interest on marketable government debt over the last year, exceeding estimated global spending on AI at $2.6 trillion, defense at $3.1 trillion, and clean energy at $2.3 trillion.
This comes as annual government interest payments across the G7 alone surged +85% YoY.
The global debt crisis is in uncharted territory.
