There are a number of organisations that publish figures on Global Debt, Their numbers all differ widely. The OECD’s Global Debt Report 2026 estimates global outstanding debt at USD 109.5 trillion—a figure that diverges significantly from CMDportal’s calculation of USD 156.7 trillion for global outstanding (>1 year) debt capital market instruments. In this analysis, we examine the sources of this discrepancy and critically assess the OECD’s methodology for measuring global debt levels and market composition.