Global debt reached $365 trillion in H1 2026 with emerging markets driving a $10 trillion surge, while G7 interest payments jumped 85% YoY in a deteriorating macro environment.
Macro & Markets ·
Global debt surged past $365 trillion in the first half of 2026, with emerging markets accounting for more than $10 trillion of the increase. Emerging-market debt alone reached $110 trillion, driven primarily by government and non-financial corporate borrowing, while debt excluding China climbed to $38 trillion—both records. Despite the absolute expansion, the debt-to-GDP ratio has compressed to roughly 310% of global output, down 25 percentage points from early 2021, though this improvement reflects nominal GDP gains from inflation rather than debt reduction.
The growth in debt-servicing costs underscores the macro strain. Developed economies spent over $3.3 trillion on interest payments for marketable government debt over the past year, a figure that now exceeds combined global spending on artificial intelligence, defense, and clean energy combined. More acutely, G7 interest payments alone jumped 85% year-over-year, signaling rapid deterioration in fiscal positions across the world's largest advanced economies.
What remains unclear is whether current borrowing levels can be sustained as rate cycles continue to tighten or ease, and whether emerging markets can manage their debt burdens without triggering currency or sovereign stress events. The composition and maturity profile of the new debt—and its sensitivity to interest-rate changes—also remain undisclosed in available reporting.