Global debt reached a record $365.5 trillion by the end of June, according to the Institute of International Finance, after rising by more than $10 trillion in the first six months of the yea
Global debt reached a record $365.5 trillion by the end of June, according to the Institute of International Finance, after rising by more than $10 trillion in the first six months of the year. The total includes government, household and corporate borrowing across more than 100 economies.
The U.S. stands out even within that enormous total. Federal debt crossed $40 trillion for the first time in August and has continued climbing since then. Treasury data cited when the milestone was reached showed roughly $32.3 trillion held by the public and another $7.8 trillion in intragovernmental holdings.
That extends the rapid increase behind the recent U.S. debt milestone.
America’s Debt Is Bigger Than Four Major Economies CombinedUsing current government-debt estimates, China owes roughly $22.3 trillion, Japan about $9 trillion, the UK around $4.4 trillion and France about $4.1-$4.3 trillion.
Together, those four countries carry roughly $40 trillion in government debt, slightly below the latest U.S. total.
Japan’s Ministry of Finance reported central-government debt of ¥1,346.7 trillion at the end of June, while France’s public debt reached a record €3.596 trillion, or 119% of GDP. The UK’s public-sector net debt was equivalent to 93.8% of GDP in August, still around levels last seen in the early 1960s.
The Bigger Problem Is the Interest BillThe size of the debt matters, but the cost of servicing it is becoming just as important.
Global government interest payments have climbed to about $3.3 trillion a year, while higher bond yields are making new borrowing more expensive. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields recently reached 5.34%, their highest level since 2002.
That is why the debt story is increasingly becoming a bond-market story.
Higher interest costs force governments to devote more revenue to servicing old debt, while refinancing at higher rates compounds the problem. Coinpaper has already examined how rising U.S. debt and Treasury yields are spilling into stocks, bonds and crypto.
