Fitch Ratings indicated that global government debt reached $66 trillion at the end of 2018, nearly twice its 2007 level and equivalent to 80% of global GDP. It said that government debt in Developed Markets (DMs) reached $51 trillion at end-2018, largely unchanged since 2012, while Emerging Markets' (EMs) government debt rose from $10 trillion to $15 trillion during the same period. It noted that 93% of global government debt carried an investment grade rating of 'BBB-' or higher at the end of 2018. It added that 11 'AAA'-rated sovereigns accounted for about 40% of global government debt, with the U.S. holding 32% of the total. Also, Japan and China, which are both rated in the 'A' category, held the second and third largest government debt stock of $12 trillion and $6 trillion, respectively, at the end of 2018. Further, Fitch pointed out that the number of sovereigns rated in the 'B' category or lower increased sharply in recent years, due to the downgrade of several 'BB'-rated commodity-exporting countries since 2014. It said that sovereigns in the 'B' category or lower accounted for 28% of the rated sovereigns, but that they accounted for only 3% of global government debt at end-2018. In parallel, the agency indicated that the credit quality of government debt deteriorated in recent years, as the debt-weighted average rating in DMs stood at slightly lower than 'AA' at end-2018, which is one notch below the average rating in 2011. It added that the debt-weighted average rating in EMs excluding China was slightly below 'BB+', its lowest level since 2005. In parallel, Fitch indicated that interest payments on the global debt reached a record high of $1.7 trillion in 2018, with investment-grade sovereigns paying 84% of the total. 
Source: Fitch Ratings