With the world's governments now owing a collective $35tn (£21tn) and counting, the Economist has devised an innovative way of getting to grips with the eye-wateringly high mountain of public debt.
Called the Global Public Debt Clock, the online guide keeps a running total of the current global public debt – updating every few seconds.
There is also an interactive map that allows users see which countries are particularly laden with debt – America, the UK, most of continental Europe – and which are less dependent on borrowing to balance the books – India, China, much of Africa.
The clock also includes 10 years of historical data, plus projections of how the debt will grow in 2010 and 2011. At the time of writing, the projected figure for 2011 was nudging $45tn – and rising. Read more.