The world is heading into a historic debt crisis: Global government debt is projected to surge to 102% of GDP by 2031, a level previously seen only in the aftermath of World War II, according to the IMF.

World government debt already stands at ~94% of GDP.

Debt-to-GDP has risen +16 percentage points since 2015, with the US and China responsible for the majority of the increase.

This comes as the US is running a government deficit of 7-8% of GDP, with debt projected to rise to 142% of GDP by 2031.

At the same time, China’s Debt-to-GDP is expected to increase to 127% as the country’s deficit has widened to nearly 8% of GDP.

Global interest payments are expected to rise to ~5% of GDP by 2031 from the current ~3%, as governments refinance maturing debt at today’s higher borrowing costs.

The global economy is being increasingly fueled by debt.