The trouble in judging a country’s financial health by the size of its debt

In the second quarter of 2018 global debt reached a new peak, climbing to 260 trillion dollars ($260,000 billion). At the same time, the global debt to GDP ratio crossed the 320 per cent threshold for the first time. Of that total, 61 per cent (160 trillion) is private debt of the non-financial sector, while only 23 per cent is represented by much vilified government debt.