The United Kingdom's national debt could reach 300% of GDP by the 2070s due to "a rapid succession of shocks," including the effects of climate change, increased defense spending and the growing costs from an aging population, the UK Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), a public independent fiscal watchdog, said on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th July, 2023) The United Kingdom's national debt could reach 300% of GDP by the 2070s due to "a rapid succession of shocks," including the effects of climate change, increased defense spending and the growing costs from an aging population, the UK Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), a public independent fiscal watchdog, said on Thursday.
"The debt-to-GDP ratio falls to a low of 88 per cent in the mid-2030s thanks to the starting Primary surplus and falling pupil numbers in education. But thereafter, a growing primary deficit and spiraling interest costs put debt on an accelerating trajectory to 310 per cent of GDP by the mid-2070s, 31 percentage points higher than in last year's projection," the OBR said in an executive summary to its new report on fiscal risks and sustainability.
The report outlined the long-term risks for the UK economy resulting from the growing tax burden, inflation, the effects of global warming, the energy crisis, and an aging baby boomer cohort amid continuing aftershocks from the COVID-19 pandemic and international tensions.
The United Kingdom, along with other European countries, has been facing inflation and a massive energy crisis as part of the post-pandemic global economic recession. The situation has further exacerbated against the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis, as hostilities and Western sanctions against Moscow have led to disruptions of supply chains across the globe.
