Take a look at the ledgers of these major economies now—the numbers are staggering.

Japan’s government debt-to-GDP ratio? 215%, firmly at the top of the list. The US isn’t doing much better at 125%, basically brushing up against its historical ceiling. The Eurozone’s situation is equally grim, with a debt ratio of 95%. What’s even more noteworthy is that a certain major Eastern country has seen this number surge to 93%—keep in mind, just a decade ago, the ratio was only half of what it is now.

Doubling in ten years—what does that tell you? Globally, the debt accumulation game has been pushed to the brink of danger. Governments everywhere are using leverage to keep things running, but leverage fuels not just growth, but risk as well. When debt levels balloon this much, it’s hard to argue that a crisis isn’t brewing.