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World Bank warns of crippling debt accumulation among 100 countries

Historically low global interest rates fueled the debt run-up but lowered the immediate risk of another financial crisis.

Shoppers at markets in Cusco, Peru
Shoppers at markets in Cusco, Peru (AN/David Morris)

WASHINGTON (AN) — Developing nations ran up $55 trillion of debt in 2018, a record amount that is part of an eight-year debt surge that is the largest, fastest and most broad-based in a half-century, the World Bank said.

The global lending institution said on Thursday in its analysis dubbed "Global Waves of Debt" that four major episodes of debt accumulation occurred among more than 100 nations since 1970. The debt-to-GDP ratio of these nations rose to 168%, up from 114%, since a debt buildup began in 2010.

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