Seven years after the global financial crisis, worldwide debt has soared by US$57 trillion, outpacing growth in gross domestic product, according to a study by the McKinsey Global Institute. The report examines the evolution of debt across 47 countries and assesses the implications of higher leverage in the global economy and in specific sectors and countries. It found that 74 per cent of the household debt was mortgages last year. And in China, the debt level soared to US$28 trillion last year from US$7 trillion in 2007, with the debt-GDP ratio hitting 217 per cent.
