The relevance of the problems investigated in the article is determined by the fact that the world economy fragmentation worsens its dynamics, but its actual fragility became relevant after the global crisis of 2008–2009. In this regard, developing countries are increasingly characterized by extreme risks associated with the global markets’ instability – not only commodity markets, but also financial ones, where the innovative derivatives expansion has increased the speculators’ role, thereby making commodity markets more volatile. The overall situation is aggravated by debt problems in many countries. The purpose of the study is to investigate the nature and extent of the debt burden that has developed in the global economy in recent years and to assess the key challenges facing the monetary policies of countries around the world in order to counter the rising debt burden. The main results of the study include the assessment of the scale and nature of the debt burden in terms of its negative impact on global economic development, identification of the relationship between the business cycle passage and the debt accumulation in foreign countries, as well as the main directions of prospective monetary policy that will contribute to the debt burden reduction in the foreseeable future.