Global debt jumped to $226 trillion last year, the largest one-year jump since World War Two, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday, and warned of risks if interest rates rise faster than expected and if growth falters.

IMF officials said in a blog post that the COVID-19 pandemic caused debt to reach 256 percent of global GDP in 2020, an increase of 28 percentage points.

They added that government borrowing accounted for just over half of the $28 trillion increase, but private sector debt among non-financial businesses and households also hit new highs.

The IMF said developed economies and China accounted for 90 percent of the increase in debt due to low interest rates. Debt rose less in developing countries, often hobbled by higher borrowing costs and limited access to financing.

Vitor Jasper, director of public finances at the IMF, and other officials said higher interest rates would reduce the impact of the increase in public spending and exacerbate concerns about debt sustainability.

“Risks will increase if interest rates rise faster than expected and growth falters,” the officials wrote in the blog.