Global Public Debt Set to Top Post-WWII Levels by 2029, IMF Says

International Monetary Fund and World Bank Fall meetings signage outside the IMF headquarters in Washington.

Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg

The International Monetary Fund said that global public debt is on track to exceed 100% of GDP by the end of this decade, its highest level since 1948, in the aftermath of World War II.

Rising debt-servicing costs are adding pressure to government’s budgets, as well as increasing defense spending and aging populations, the Washington-based fund said in its latest Fiscal Monitor, published on Wednesday.