Nigeria, April 24 -- There are strong indications that the heightened uncertainty caused by the new US tariffs will push global public debt above pandemic-era levels to nearly 100 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the end of the decade.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) made this known in its Fiscal Monitor report released at the ongoing World Bank/IMF Spring meetings, adding that the situation could be exacerbated as slower growth and trade strain government budgets.

According to the Fiscal Monitor's debt-at-risk, which utilises data up to December 2024, in a severely adverse scenario, global public debt could reach 117 per cent of GDP by 2027. The Fund said this would represent the highest level since World War II...