How the world got into $315 trillion of debt

Here is a transcript of the video.

The world is in debt. To the tune of $315 trillion and counting.

$315 trillion is a staggering number to visualize but consider this. In 2024, global gross domestic product — or GDP — amounted to $109.5 trillion dollars— slightly over a third of that global debt number.

Another way to picture it? There are about 8.1 billion of us living in the world today. If we were to divide that debt up by person, each of us would owe about $39,000. 

So, with global debt at a record high, should you be concerned? And how did we get here in the first place? 

Global debt combines borrowings from households, businesses and governments.

You're probably most familiar with household debt, which includes things like mortgages, credit card and student debt. At the beginning of 2024, this amounted to $59.1 trillion.

Business debt, which corporations use to finance their operations and growth, sat at $164.5 trillion, with the financial sector alone making up $70.4 trillion of that amount.

Finally, there's government debt, which is used to help fund public services and projects without raising taxes.  

Countries can borrow from each other or from global institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

But governments can also raise money by selling bonds... which is essentially an IOU from the state to investors. And like all loans, it includes interest.

Public debt stood at $91.4 trillion. While debt may have a bad rap, it isn't necessarily a bad thing. It could help an individual get an education or join the property ladder. It enables businesses to start up and scale up. And though national debt is the most contentious of the three, it can give governments the leverage they need to build the