Government debt of the countries of the world. Ranking of countries by the level of public debt

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

The public debt of the countries of the world is the dominant factor in destabilizing not only the financial situation in the world, but also the economic one. The only way out of the situation is to look for ways to reduce global debt, including a slowdown in its growth. According to world analysts, while the first world crisis arose as a result of the active growth of debts of the financial sector, corporate economy and household, the crisis of the 21st century will be caused precisely by the growth of public debts of most countries of the world. Financial market experts fearfully say that by 2015 the debt obligations of countries have every chance of becoming a mere paper.

What do the 2014 statistics say?

Government debt of the countries of the world as of the end of 2014 has frightening volumes.

• Japan – public debt equals 234% of GDP.
• Greece - 183%.
• Portugal - 148%.
• Italy - 139%.
• Belgium - 135%.

Analytical global company McKinsey entered the top ten countries in terms of public debtalso Spain (132%) and Ireland (115%), Singapore (105%), France (104%) and the UK (92%). An interesting fact is that America in this rating got 11th place with 89% of GDP. It is also worth noting here that, in accordance with official government statistics, back in 2011, the US public debt crossed the mark of 100% of GDP. As for the statistics of 2013, the amount of debt increased to 106.6%. According to preliminary calculations, in 2014 America's debt should be at the level of 109.9%. At the moment, countries are pursuing an active policy to reduce public debt. The effectiveness of the activities and the final indicators of 2015 can only be assessed in December.

Lowest government debt rates

There is a rating of countries not only with large debts, but also with minimal ones. You can note the public debt of the countries of the world in descending order:

• Norway - Public debt is 34% of GDP.
• Colombia - 32%.
• China - 31%.
• Australia – 31%.
• Indonesia - 22%.

States that are virtually debt-free and have less than 20% of GDP in debt are Peru (19%) and Argentina (19%), Chile (15%), Russia (9%) and Saudi Arabia Arabia (3%).

Relationship between national debt and the level of development of the countries of the world

The level of public debt of the countries of the world allows us to establish some connection between the volume of debt and the level of development of the state. It is worth saying that the least attract funds to cover the deficitstate budget, which are at the stage of active development. Countries that are considered economically developed have a budget surplus much more often, and they get into debt systematically. If we consider the debt not as a percentage of GDP, but in terms of money, in this category, the leader's place went to America. Its national debt has long since crossed the $18 trillion limit. World economic analysts are talking about an increase in debt by the end of 2015 to 19 trillion dollars. Second in the category is Japan, with $10.5 trillion in debt. This is followed by China - 5.5 trillion. These three countries account for about 58-60% of the total world debt. At the same time, Russia, which back in mid-2014 had a debt corresponding to 0.1% of the world, is today included in the "garbage rating" of countries for which it is almost impossible to get a loan on the international market.

Dynamics of the situation

The public debt of the countries of the world has a positive trend, it is systematically increasing. In the period from 2007 to 2014 alone, not only the PIGS countries that pose a threat to the EU (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain), but also the leaders of the international market, in particular Japan, Italy and France, managed to increase their debts by several times. America has surpassed all the states of the PIGS group. According to preliminary forecasts, the situation in the world will only escalate. Absolute and relative build-up of debt is likely tocharacteristic of countries with a high level of economic development.

Why do advanced economies have unsustainable government debt?

The reason for the phenomenon is that the pace of economic growth does not allow not only to repay, but also to service the loans taken. For most economically developed countries, not only zero, but also minus rates of economic development are characteristic. After a thorough analysis of the situation, McKinsey agency experts came to the conclusion that the most difficult countries to refuse to receive a loan to refinance their debts will be such countries as Spain and Japan, Italy, Portugal, Great Britain and France. Experts see the solution to the problem in a comprehensive restructuring of the economy, by completely decoupling it from government debt.

Trends and observations

The rating of public debt of the countries of the world, according to experts of the largest German publishing house Der Spiegel, has a direct connection with the peculiarities of the development of states.

• The more public debt a country has, the more notions such as democracy and liberalism flourish in its politics.
• Developed countries spend funds from the budget, not focusing on the actual state of the economy. To say in simple terms "live beyond their means." The more developed a country is considered to be, the more external debt it has.
• The economic development of the country is fully consistent with the growth of debt. The processes run in parallel and are almost identical.

Strange statisticsor What shows the external public debt of the countries of the world

The above observations from the experts of the publication "Der Spiegel" are confirmed by the actual situation in the world. Consider major international alliances. Thus, the G7, in theory, united the economies of the most powerful countries in the world. If we compare the GDP and public debt of the countries of the world from this alliance, we can see the following indicators:

• Great Britain – debt equivalent to 92% of GDP.
• Germany - 72%.
• Canada - 86%.
• Italy - 139%.
• USA - 109.9%
• France - 98%.
• Japan - 234%.

Comparing these indicators with the indicators of the states that are part of the "BRICS", experts draw certain conclusions. Thus, Russia (9% of GDP), Brazil (65% of GDP), China (31% of GDP) and South Africa (50% of GDP) look more “economically he althy” compared to the world leaders. It is worth saying here that at least 0.5 billion people live on the territory of the G7 states, who consume many times more goods and services than about 3 billion people on the territory of the BRICS countries.

What does the analysis of the situation in 2015 say?

It is problematic to assess the public debt of the countries of the world in real time, since official data will be presented only by the end of 2015. According to preliminary estimates, taking into account the fact that the growth of debts due to the economic situation in the world continues at an active pace, this yearit will take about 6.3% more funds. Representatives of the Bloomberg agency report that the strongest countries in the world are actively refinancing their debts through the execution of new loans from the IMF. From official sources, it became known that by the end of 2015 the BRICS countries and the G7 states must pay off their debt obligations in the amount of 6.96 trillion dollars. From experts in the world economy, one can hear opinions that 2015 will be favorable, and the amount of debt will become less, which at this stage seems to be an unrealistic forecast.