Global debt has reached a record high, and three countries account for more than half of it, according to a new International Monetary Fund report released Wednesday.
The IMF’s fiscal monitor said total debt reached $164 trillion in 2016, or 225% of global gross domestic product. That includes the debt of governments, households and companies.
Compared with the previous peak in 2009, the world is now 12% of GDP deeper in debt, the IMF said.
Just three countries — China, Japan and the U.S. — account for more than half of global debt, and China alone accounts for almost three-quarters of the increase in private debt since the financial crisis.
