Falling Private Debt—Launch of the 2024 Vintage of the IMF Global Debt Database
December 3, 2024
Moderator:
Chris Giles (FT)
Panelists:
Vitor Gaspar (Director, IMF Fiscal Affairs Department)
Gian Maria Milesi Ferretti (Senior Fellow, Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, the Brookings Institution)
Luiz Awazu Pereira da Silva (Visiting Professor, University of Tokyo, LSE, and Sciences-Po Paris)
Ruth Yang (Managing Director and Global Head of Private Market Analytics, S&P Global)
The roundtable marked the release of the IMF’s 2024 Global Debt Database Vintage and the Global Debt Monitor. The discussion focused on the drivers and prospects for global debt, especially the divergence between private and public sector debt, and the challenges ahead.
Abstract
The latest update of the IMF’s Global Debt Database records the total global debt in 2023 at nearly USD 250 trillion. As a share of GDP, global debt declined in 2023 to 237 percent, as falling private sector debt more than compensated for the rise in public sector debt. Weakening economic growth prospects are one of the main factors behind this decline. The event will focus on the drivers and prospects for global debt, especially the divergence between private and public sector debt, and the challenges ahead.
About the Database
The IMF’s Global Debt Database (GDD) is a unique dataset covering private and public debt for virtually the entire world dating back to the 1950s. It differs from existing datasets in three major ways. First, the GDD adopts a multidimensional approach by offering multiple debt series, for instance by providing debt statistics at different levels of government for public debt, thus ensuring consistency over time. Second, it more than doubles the cross-sectional dimension of existing private debt datasets. Finally, there are regular checks to improve the quality of the data including through bilateral consultations with country officials and IMF country desks. The GDD also helps to enhance data transparency across countries.