Total debt in emerging markets hit new record in Q3

ANKARA

Global debt declined in the third quarter but total debt in emerging markets hit a new record, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF) on Wednesday.

Global debt decreased to $296 trillion in the July-September period, after hitting a record high in the second quarter, the IIF said in its Global Debt Monitor report.

"Global debt-to-GDP ratios continue to decline, helped by stronger economic activity and higher inflation," according to the report.

Despite the decline, global debt is still up year-on-year, increasing from $280.1 trillion in the third quarter of 2020.

Advanced economies saw their total debt fall below $204 trillion for the three months ending in September.

Total debt in emerging markets, however, climbed to a new record of $92.5 trillion during the July-September period of 2021, with China contributing the most.

China saw its debt-to-GDP ratio jump 25 percentage points to 330% since the end of 2019. Its total debt soared to more than $13.7 trillion during that period.

While the debt-to-GDP ratio came in at 410% in advanced economies, it was 247% in emerging markets for the third quarter.

In Turkey, the debt-to-GDP ratio for households stood at 16.6% and non-financial corporates at 66.4% in the July-September period, while it was 40.1% for the public sector and 25.6% for financial companies.