Excluding the United States, world imports rose about 2-3/4 percent annually from 1995 to 2002; external liabilities increased approximately 8 percent.
Less-comprehensive data suggest that the ratio of global debt and equity claims to trade has been rising since at least the beginning of the post-World War II period, though apparently at a more modest pace than in recent years.2 From an accounting perspective, part of the increase in the ratio of world gross claims to trade in recent years reflects the continued marked rise in tradable foreign currencies held by private firms as well as a very significant buildup of international currency reserves of monetary authorities.