In the UK, a dramatic borrowing binge due to the coronavirus pandemic has sent the nation’s national debt into never-before-seen territory. Vital schemes such as furlough and business grants and loans have pushed the debt pile up from just £354 billion in the year 2000 to an unbelievable £2.3 trillion today.
Mark Littlewood, director-general of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said the situation was “dire”.
He said: “There are only two real ways out of this mess over the long run.
“You either have to substantially increase tax revenues or substantially lower spending, or a mixture of the two.
“As with most problems, the debt problem gets worse the longer you delay facing up to it.”
But the UK isn’t the only one suffering with a huge national debt crisis – EU countries are also shouldering heavy debt burdens thanks to COVID-19.
Italy has also seen its national debt rise by 21 percentage points over the course of the last quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2021.
The 27 member countries of the EU increased national debt by an average of 12.9 percentage points from 2019 to 2021.
On the lower end of the spectrum, Ireland increased its national debt by only 0.4 percentage points, and Sweden by only 1.2 percentage points.
Across the pond, the USA has topped $30 trillion in national debt for the first time in its history.
What is national debt?
National debt is the total money borrowed by the British Government.
The debt is owed to the financial markets who lend credit, which they create themselves.
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