UN Report: Global Public Debt Reached a Record of USD 97 Trillion in 2023

Current Context: The United Nations released a report titled “A World of Debt 2024: A Growing Burden to Global Prosperity” on June 4, 2024.

• This report highlighted that the global public debt reached a record of USD 97 trillion in 2023, with the public debt in developing countries hitting $29 trillion, which is about 30% of the total worldwide.
• The report also emphasized that soaring interest payments are outpacing the growth of critical public spending such as spending on education and health.
• In 2023, developing nations paid $847 billion in net interest, a 26% increase from 2021.
• Half of the developing nations designate a minimum of 8% of government revenues to debt servicing, a number that has doubled in the last ten years.
• In 2023, a historic 54 developing nations, with almost half in Africa, dedicated a minimum of 10% of government funds to debt interest payments.

Question:

1 According to the report, what was the global public debt in 2023?

• A) USD 97 trillion
• B) USD 97 billion
• C) USD 29 trillion
• D) USD 29 billion

Answer: A) This report highlighted that the global public debt reached a record of USD 97 trillion in 2023, with the public debt in developing countries hitting $29 trillion, which is about 30% of the total worldwide.