IIF reports emerging market debt rises $6.5T to over $110T in first half of 2026

Emerging market debt swelled by $6.5 trillion in the first half of 2026, pushing the total past $110 trillion. China, unsurprisingly, was the primary engine behind the increase. The figures come from the Institute of International Finance’s latest Global Debt Monitor, published on September 23, 2026. The report paints a picture of a world borrowing at a pace that would make a credit card company blush, with global debt now exceeding $365 trillion. The numbers in context To appreciate the scale here, consider that global debt stood at nearly $353 trillion by the end of Q1 2026. That means the world added over $12 trillion in obligations in roughly six months, with emerging markets responsible for the lion’s share of that increase. One figure that might seem reassuring at first glance: global debt-to-GDP ratios have held steady at around 305%. But this stability is less a sign of fiscal health and more a mathematical artifact. Higher inflation has boosted nominal GDP figures, which makes the ratio look manageable even as absolute debt levels climb to record territory. The IIF was explicit in its warning that this apparent plateau in debt-to-GDP could be masking deeper vulnerabilities...