Global debt down in Q1, 1st time in last 10 quarters

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The global debt decreased by $1.7 trillion to $289 trillion in the first quarter, posting the first decline on a quarterly basis during the last 10 quarters, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) said.

"The drop was entirely driven by mature market economies, where the total debt dropped $2.3 trillion to below $203 trillion," the IIF said in a report on late Thursday.

Meanwhile, emerging markets' debt rose slightly in the same period by around $600 billion to $86 trillion.

Despite the slight decrease in the first quarter versus the previous quarter, the global debt was $29 trillion more than the first quarter of 2020, up 11%.

"Mature markets accounted for nearly two-thirds of the rise," it added.

In the first quarter of 2021, the global debts were 320% of the global GDP, the report highlighted.