World News for Students of English

22-09-2023 07:00

The world’s debt is now 307 trillion dollars. It is the highest number ever.

Banks are not lending as much money as before. Interest rates are higher. But the debt is still growing. A recent report says that in the first part of 2023, the debt goes up by 10 trillion dollars. Over ten years, it goes up by 100 trillion dollars. The report says that prices go up very fast.  This makes the debt go down in the last two years. But the situation will change in the coming months.

Most of this new debt is from rich countries like the US, Japan, Britain, and France. In other countries like China, India, and Brazil, the debt also goes up. Experts say that when the interest rates are higher, it will be more difficult for governments and people to pay the money back.

Difficult words: debt (money which you owe to someone), interest rate (the part of a loan which you must pay extra for borrowing it), government (people who control a country, city, and so on).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.