Statsguru: Total private debt soars in China, remains stable in India

Since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, global debt levels have soared, driven by rising public and private sector debt. As seen in Chart 1, total global debt was estimated at a staggering 225 per cent of global GDP or $164 trillion in 2016. The top three borrowers in the world are the United States, China and Japan. Put together, these three countries account for more than half of global debt, finds a new study by economists at the IMF.

However, trends in debt levels vary across countries. As seen in Chart 2, much of the increase in public sector