Global Debt Database: Methodology and Sources. Samba Mbaye; Marialuz Moreno Badia; Kyungla Chae. May 14, 2018. “This paper describes the compilation of the Global Debt Database (GDD), a cutting-edge dataset covering private and public debt for virtually the entire world (190 countries) dating back to the 1950s. The GDD is the result of a multiyear investigative process that started with the October 2016 Fiscal Monitor, which pioneered the expansion of private debt series to a global sample. It differs from existing datasets in three major ways. First, it takes a fundamentally new approach to compiling historical data. Where most debt datasets either provide long series with a narrow and changing definition of debt or comprehensive debt concepts over a short period, the GDD adopts a multidimensional approach by offering multiple debt series with different coverages, thus ensuring consistency across time. Second, it more than triples the cross-sectional dimension of existing private debt datasets. Finally, the integrity of the data has been checked through bilateral consultations with officials and IMF country desks of all countries in the sample, setting a higher data quality standard.”

• Link to IMF DataMapper – “The Global Debt Database (GDD) is the result of a multiyear investigative process that started with the October 2016 Fiscal Monitor. The dataset comprises total gross debt of the (private and public) nonfinancial sector for an unbalanced panel of 190 advanced economies, emerging market economies and low-income countries, dating back to 1950. For more details on the methodology and definitions, please see the Mbaye, Moreno Badia and Chae (2018).”