New York: Global debt has increased significantly by approximately 50% over the past decade, surpassing a 46% increase in global gross domestic product (GDP).

According to Anadolu Agency, data from the International Institute of Finance (IIF) reveals that between the end of 2015 and the end of 2024, global debt rose by 49.2%, climbing from $213.3 trillion to $318.4 trillion. This represents an additional $105 trillion. In contrast, over the past ten years, global GDP increased by around $35 trillion, reaching $110 trillion as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This development indicates that global debt now exceeds the world's GDP by three times.

During the same period, household debt increased by 50% to $60.1 trillion, and debt for non-financial companies grew by 45% to $91.3 trillion. Financial firms experienced the smallest increase of 33.4%, reaching $71.4 trillion. Meanwhile, government debt surged by 67.7%, rising from $56.8 trillion at the end of 2015 to $95.3 trillion by the end of 2024.

Debt in mature markets rose by 34.3% to $214.3 trillion as of the end of 2024, whereas emerging markets saw a 92.7% jump to $103.7 trillion. Regarding GDP, advanced economies witnessed a 41.7% increase, while emerging markets and developing economies posted a 53.2% rise.

Significant developments in the past decade include measures introduced to mitigate the severe economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. While global GDP narrowed by around 2.5% year-on-year in 2020, according to the IMF, global debt rose by 13% during the same period, reaching $291.2 trillion.

Since the World Health Organization declared the pandemic in January 2020, global debt has increased by 23.2%, from $258.4 trillion to $318.4 trillion, as reported by IIF data. Concurrently, global GDP expanded by about 26%, according to IMF figures, with world trade doubling from around $16 trillion to approximately $33 trillion.

Focusing on specific economies, the United States' total debt was $97.83 trillion at the end of 2024, a 62.5% increase over the past decade, making the US responsible for around a third of global debt. During the same period, the US economy grew by 58.4%, which was less than the debt increase.

In the euro area, total debt rose by 22% to $54.5 trillion by the end of 2024, while the eurozone economy expanded by 38.5%, growing faster than debt figures. The UK's debt increased by 12.5% over the past decade, while its GDP grew by 22.5%. Russia's debt totaled $2.6 trillion as of the end of 2024, rising by 67.7%, whereas the Russian economy grew by 60.3%. China's debt figures rose by 123.4% to $62.4 trillion over the same period, while its GDP expanded by 64.5%, about half the rate of its debt growth.