The Inconvenient Truth: Debt does not make a nation poor; wasting it does

Global public debt stood at almost 94% of GDP: Japan’s exceeded 200%, the United Kingdom’s was above 100%, Singapore carried exceptionally high gross debt while remaining a major creditor with vast public assets, and South Africa remained close to 78%.

Two countries can share the same debt-to-GDP ratio yet face very different burdens, one borrowing cheaply over thirty years and another expensively over seven.

A country borrowing heavily in a foreign currency carries a different risk from one borrowing in a currency it issues, since a sharp depreciation can explode the domestic burden of foreign debt without a single additional dollar borrowed.