How we calculate the numbers

Total global debt aggregates government, household, corporate and financial-sector debt as reported by the IMF Global Debt Database and BIS Credit to the Non-Financial Sector.

Live counters are interpolated using the most recent annual growth rate from primary sources. They are illustrative — not real-time market feeds.

Per-capita figures use UN Population Division mid-year estimates for population, adult population (15+) and active labour force.

Debt to GDP uses gross general government debt and nominal GDP in current USD from IMF WEO.

Currency: all figures normalised to US dollars at the latest available exchange rate.