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Global Debt Hits Record of Near $353 Trillion, with Signs of Move Away From US
The IIF said Washington’s borrowing drove a $4.4 trillion first-quarter jump, while investors showed signs of moving away from U.S. Treasuries.
- Global debt hit a record of nearly $353 trillion by end-March, the Institute of International Finance reported on Wednesday, as investors show signs of diversifying away from U.S. Treasuries.
- Washington's borrowing push drove global debt up by over $4.4 trillion in the first quarter, marking the fastest increase since mid-2025 and the fifth straight quarterly rise.
- Emerging markets, excluding China, saw debt rise to a record $36.8 trillion, while global debt stood at 305 percent of world economic output, broadly stable since 2023.
- "These trends partly reflect diverging debt trajectories, which are increasingly influencing investor allocation decisions," Emre Tiftik, director at the IIF for Global Markets and Policy, wrote, noting strengthening demand for Japanese and European bonds.
- While there is "no immediate risk" in the $30 trillion U.S. Treasury market, Tiftik suggested U.S. government debt increasingly looks to be on an "unsustainable path" as structural pressures push levels higher.
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Global debt hits record of near $353 trillion, with signs of move away from US
Investors are showing signs of diversifying away from U.S. Treasuries as global debt levels hit a record of nearly $353 trillion by end-March, a report by the Institute of International Finance published on Wednesday found.
·United Kingdom
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Global Debt Breaks Historical Peak: the Most Indebted Latin American Countries, According to the IIF
The global debt reached a new historic peak in the first quarter of 2026 and reached $353 billion, driven mainly by the indebtedness of the United States and China, while several emerging economies began to record a sustained increase in their debt-to-GDP ratios.
Global debt reached a new record in the first quarter of 2026 and is not expected to stop there in the context of global tensions, according to the IIF.
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Total News Sources19
Leaning Left3Leaning Right1Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
50% Center
L 38%
C 50%
12%
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