Hide your wallets and bank accounts as we tackle the 11 countries with the most debt in the world. We’ve commonly heard of broke people and poverty, we’ve heard of companies going down in bankruptcy, we’ve even encountered local governments going bankrupt in debt. However, what if the whole country lacks funding and money? When a country falls short of its needs and the means to fulfill them, countries often go to the World Bank and borrow what they need, with the intention of repaying once their country settles and improves in its economy.
For this list, we’ll solely go through the facts of how much these countries owe the World Bank. You’ll notice that interestingly, most of these countries are actually developed and powerful countries. Power does come at a price, and its maintenance is very high. There are of course different circumstances to each country considering all the global events in recent years. If you’re looking to go on the opposite end of the spectrum, well not exactly as opposite, go ahead and check this list of The World’s 15 Fastest Growing Economies.
With what has been told to you now, and among what you know, what countries do you think are included in this list? You might be in one of these countries with the most debt right now without even being aware of it. Either way, let’s move to the first of this list.
11. Luxembourg
The not-so-much publicized country of Luxembourg takes this spot in the list with around 15 billion dollars in debt. The country is actually expecting debt to decline in the coming years which is keeping the government mostly positive.
10. Ireland
Ireland is one of the more beautiful countries in Europe, and it’s also home to a rich culture and history. What most don’t know is that Ireland is actually around 233 billion dollars in debt. Yes, that would mean that every person in the country has a debt of around 50 thousand dollars each. I think it would be better not to think about it.
9. Greece
Greece has been up and down and recently under the crisis of recession. Its recent downfall in the economy and a curving increase in debt has been due to the recession and the different economic and political problems Europe has been experiencing. The current debt is around 376 billion dollars.
8. Netherlands
In a debt of around 530 billion dollars, Netherlands is considered at the grasp of crippling debt as they have one of the largest debts especially in the housing sector. With most of the country undergoing housing problems and correction, the Netherlands continues to be affected by economic downfall.
7. Spain
Within recent years Spain, especially after the global recession has experienced difficulties in finances as well, with the dire situation only considered finished by around last year. Spain owes a debt of around 1 trillion dollars, which by their population amounts to 24 thousand dollars each.
6. France
France has also not been up to its former position as the country reaches around 40 thousand dollars per citizen in debt; meaning that the country’s debt is around 2 trillion dollars deep. There are even a rare few who believe that this is actually justice from the oppression of the past lived French rule.
5. Germany
Germany has 2.1 trillion in debt, approximately 27 thousand dollars of debt per citizen. This debt has been developing in the past few years, painting a not so attractive picture towards investors and other countries.
That’s the first half of this list of 11 countries with the most debt in the world. Remember though that despite these large numbers, countries can actually work to recover the debt in a span of years depending on their gross domestic product, or to simply put it, if the money they get per year exceeds their debt.
4. United Kingdom
There is a significant deficit of the budget of the United Kingdom as of this year, leaving a gap of around 2.3 trillion dollars in debt (1.5 trillion pounds in the UK). With the amount exceeding the trillion lines, paying the debt has never been more urgent.
3. Italy
Italy is continued to be projected in debt for the foreseeable future. Owing both private and public lenders around 3 trillion dollars in debt, future projections for the economy of Italy are not so good.
2. Japan
With a lot of cataclysmic events in recent years like the tragic tsunami and nuclear plant meltdown, Japan faces a staggering debt of around 10 trillion dollars, which converted is about 80 thousand dollars per citizen of the country.
1. United States
It takes a whole lot of money to be doing what the US has done in recent years, from supporting other countries and governments in aid and war efforts. To the money spent combatting terrorism and ensuring national security. Plus the added costs of benefits for the population, the US debt is at a large 18 trillion currently.
There you have it – our list of the 11 countries with the most debt in the world, and only time will tell if they’ll rise up out of it.
