US Borrowing Expected to Rival Europe’s Most Indebted States, Says IMF | Euronews by Una Hajdari

The US marks the steepest rise

The United States will see the steepest increase among major advanced economies when it comes to debt-to-GDP ratio, according to the IMF.

From 2023 to 2030, general government gross debt will climb from 119.8% of GDP in 2023 to 143.4% in 2030.

The institution noted that the United States will, for the first time this century, surpass Italy and Greece on this front — long viewed as the developed world’s most indebted states.

Italy’s debt still ranks among the world’s highest at around 137% of GDP, but the IMF expects the total to remain at 137% in 2030.

Greece, currently recording a debt of 146.7%, is expected to reach 130.2%.

For comparison, France is currently at 116.5%, Spain has a total of 100.4%, while Germany is at 64.4%.

The Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark maintain ratios below 60%. The result is a continent perpetually divided between northern fiscal discipline and southern fatigue.

For the United States, however, the trend is unambiguously upwards, which the IMF attributed to persistently large deficits and rising interest costs.

Washington’s debt profile, it warned, is now comparable to that of highly indebted European economies — stressing the need for fiscal reform.

Other top tier global economies are facing the threat of a debt-to-GDP ratio above 100%. These include Canada, China, France, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

In other words, the crisis of debt sustainability has migrated from largely being a trademark of the developing world to the G20 itself, with the countries that underpin the international financial system being the ones stretching it to its limits.

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