Total global debt reached an unprecedented record level, exceeding the threshold of $365 trillion, recording an increase of more than $10 trillion during the first half of 2026, driven mainly by emerging markets, according to data from the Institute of International Finance.
The institute reported in its latest report, entitled “Global Debt Monitor,” that emerging market debt topped the scene with an increase of $6.5 trillion to record more than $110 trillion, led by China, coinciding with a sharp slowdown in the pace of debt accumulation within advanced economies.
Despite this record rise, the total increase was less than half of the $21 trillion that was added during the same period last year. This is due to the impact of pressures from rising interest rates, debt servicing costs, and energy prices, as well as the repercussions resulting from the conflict with Iran, which cast a negative shadow on the volume of borrowing.
Most of this sectoral increase was concentrated in governments and non-financial companies, which recorded new record levels in their debts.
In the same context, the global debt ratio stabilized at about 310% of GDP, down by about 25 percentage points from its peak recorded in early 2021. However, the Institute of International Finance noted that this relative decline is primarily due to the role of inflation in raising nominal GDP, not real policies to reduce debt levels.
The issuance of this report coincides with a noticeable jump in US Treasury bond yields, recording the highest levels in several years, resulting in an increase in the burden of refinancing costs on governments.
