LONDON: Global public debt surged to a record $92 trillion in 2022 as governments borrowed to counter crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with the burden being felt acutely by developing countries, a UN report said.
Domestic and external debt worldwide has increased more than five times in the last two decades, outstripping the rate of economic growth, with gross domestic product only tripling since 2002, according to the Wednesday report, released in the run up to a G20 finance ministers and central bank governors’ meeting on July 14-18.
“Markets may seem not be suffering — yet. But people are,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters. “Some of the poorest countries in the world are being forced into a choice between servicing their debt, or serving their people.”
Developing countries owe almost 30 percent of the global public debt, of which 70 percent is represented by China, India and Brazil. Fifty-nine developing countries face a debt-to-GDP ratio above 60 percent — a threshold indicating high levels of debt.
“Debt has been translating into a substantial burden for developing countries due to limited access to financing, rising borrowing costs, currency devaluations and sluggish growth,” the UN report added.Source: Reuters
