NEW YORK- It isn’t just American CU members and consumers who are getting deeper into debt, as global debt rose by around $7.5 trillion in the first three months of the year to hit a record high of over $324 trillion, according to new data.

The Institute of International Finance reported that China, France, and Germany were the largest contributors to the global debt increase, while debt levels declined in Canada, the UAE, and Turkey.

‘More Than Quadruple’

“While the sharp depreciation of the U.S. dollar against major trading partners contributed to the increase in the USD value of debt, the Q1 rise was more than quadruple the average quarterly increase of $1.7 trillion observed since the end of 2022,” the IIF said in its Global Debt Monitor.

The global debt-to-output ratio continued to move slowly lower, standing just above 325%. However, in emerging markets the ratio hit a record high at 245%, Reuters reported.

“Total debt in emerging markets rose by over $3.5 trillion in the first quarter to a record high of more than $106 trillion. China alone accounted for over $2 trillion of the rise, according to the IIF,

Additional Findings

According to the IIF, other findings include:

•  China’s government debt-to-GDP is at 93% and is expected to hit 100% before the end of the year.
• Emerging market debt outside China also hit a nominal record, with Brazil, India and Poland seeing the largest increases in the dollar value of their debt. Yet the debt-to-GDP ratio of emerging markets ex-China fell to below 180%, some 15 percentage points below the record high, the IIF said.
• Emerging markets face a record $7 trillion in bond and loan redemptions during the rest of 2025, while for developed economies, the number stands near $19 trillion.