According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the total volume of public debt in the world will reach $100 trillion in 2024. The main factors behind the growth are increasing borrowing in the United States and China, Bloomberg reports.
Forecasts show that this figure will grow until 2050, if governments do not begin to implement fiscal reforms and reduce budget deficits.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva noted that the high level of debt burden creates long-term risks for the global economy. «Our forecasts point to an unfavorable combination of low growth and high debt. Governments need to reduce debt and accumulate reserves to be prepared for future crises, which may come sooner than expected,» she said.
The IMF stresses that debt in the world’s largest economies, such as the US and China, could cause a «spillover» effect, raising borrowing costs for other countries. This would create additional economic risks for emerging markets and countries with already high debt burdens.
