10 Countries With HUGE Foreign Debt Bills (PHOTOS)

Last week, Dubai's announcement that its investment arm, Dubai World, was requesting a six-month "standstill" on its $60 billion debt sent world markets tumbling.

The city-state, one of seven that make up the United Arab Emirates, racked up billions in debt over the last decade under the assumption that it would ultimately be guaranteed by the U.A.E. And indeed, even as Dubai appeared to dissociate itself from the conglomerate this week -- one official said that the state-owned company, which he insisted was "independent," was "not guaranteed by the (Dubai) government" -- the U.A.E indicated that it would assist the city-state by lending to Dubai's banks.

But the U.A.E. isn't the only country swamped in debt. As the New York Times reported today: "Even in rich nations like the United States and Japan, which are increasing government spending to shore up slack economies, mounting budget deficits are raising concern about governments' ability to shoulder their debts, especially once interest rates start to rise again."

To investigate which country could be the next sovereign debt crisis, we took a look at a figure called gross external debt, which is a tabulation of the debt taken out by a country's government, corporations and citizens and held by foreign entities. Using second-quarter data collected by the World Bank, we listed the ten countries with the most total foreign debt.

And while all ten owe vast sums of money to foreign entities, total debt isn't the whole story. Comparing total external debt to GDP is also a useful calculation, as is the amount of public debt a particular country maintains. Still, some names on this list may surprise you. And, all except for one have trimmed their debt from where it stood the year prior.

Check out the list below:

#10 Luxembourg -- $1.994 trillion

Luxembourg's gross external debt was $1.994 trillion in the second quarter this year. One year prior, it stood at $2.087 trillion.

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Comments

[winningticket]

11:10 AM on 12/03/2009

Luxembourg's population is only a few hundred thousand, so their debt per capita is astronomical as compared to the other countries.

[invest in jobs]

03:44 PM on 12/02/2009

Now that Obama tacked unemployment benefits he needs to set his focus no on WALL STREET REGULATION and JOBS

good articles; http://financeopinionss.blogspot.com

[yellowdahlia99]

10:17 PM on 12/01/2009

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[futate01]

04:21 PM on 12/01/2009

An to whom do they owe these debts, each other, or is everyone owned by China now? Where can I get more info on this? Anyone know?

[SolarArray]

02:03 PM on 12/02/2009

That's what I want to find out as well. Someone has to be in the plus, correct?

[hemara]

03:34 PM on 12/01/2009

Debt figures alone don't indicate much, this should be debt as a % of GDP...

[Jesse P. Steinberg]

02:47 PM on 12/01/2009

I meant, I wish I could operate at a debt that large. My bad.

[Jesse P. Steinberg]

02:46 PM on 12/01/2009

I would I could operate at a debt that large.

[BlogUser]

01:57 PM on 12/01/2009

One thing is not clear. Who is lending this much money? Someone must be rich to lend this much money.
Also, if you notice there are many nation from G8 countries in this list. That means that if G8 decides not to pay and settle it thru war, with any country, every thing will be squared off and developing countries will suffer the results.
"Spend recklessly" is the new trend in most G8 nations. We of course are #1 as usual.
Who cares of this debt anyway, who is going to come after US if US does not pay the debt. First we need to figure it out who has lend us the money and then go after them with big guns, that's an american way of life. Capitalism at full swing.

GOD BLESS US ALL

[NedPointsman]

05:29 PM on 12/02/2009

"Who cares of this debt anyway, who is going to come after US if US does not pay the debt. First we need to figure it out who has lend us the money and then go after them with big guns, that's an american way of life."

Well, see, you need debt to pay for your wars, fund your 'free market' corporations and produce 'free market' innovations like computers and the intertubes. if you default, eventually nobody will lend you anymore money, then, basically, you all starve whilst rolling around in your own faeces.

[lightningbolt]

01:52 PM on 12/01/2009

The international central banking cartel has succeeded in swamping lots of nations with lots of debt. The central banking cartel is the real enemy. They have the power to destroy every single nation through debt. The bankers must be thrown out of our government if we want to have a democracy. Otherwise, we will continue living in the current corporate dictatorship where stealing from the public through inflation is legal.

[invest in jobs]

01:36 PM on 12/01/2009

Mr Summers , bernanke, Geithner, Hillary are three people I could stand to see lose their jobs

hat tip to http://financeopinionss.blogspot.com

[Sirdi]

01:38 PM on 12/01/2009

Yeah, and I only got two words to say; whoop thereitis...

[SolarArray]

12:49 PM on 12/01/2009

Who do they owe the money to?

[Hoelder]

12:43 PM on 12/01/2009

Italy is not Vatican City, which is it's own country. The picture is wrong. For the GDP / Debt ratio people: this is only one way to slice the pie. It is the conservative view to say it's not that bad. However, if you take into account the changes in the age disparity or productivity per employee with the employee / population, or goods / services ratio than the picture gets really scary. The debt will shift to fewer income owners and the risk factor will raise. No matter how you spin it, the risk factor raises disproportionally the higher the debt and the lower productivity per person ratio.

[WoodyIV]

12:40 PM on 12/01/2009

Just a note, our gross external debt has actually decreased, along with many of the other contries mentioned, from the level of 2nd qtr 2008. In addition it has only increased 27 billion form year end 2007. I mention this because both of those marks are prior to TARP and the Stimulus package.

[Jahbundance]

12:28 PM on 12/01/2009

We're not #1 in the ratio that matters, gross external debt to gross domestic product.

Our debt is 95% of our GDP. France's is 210%, Germany 160% and the winner is......UK with 370%.

Of course our 95% is sickening when compared to Japan at 35% but they aren't fighting two wars.

Canada's and Italy's are similar around 58%. Mexico's ratio is 14%.

[Jahbundance]

12:31 PM on 12/01/2009

I forgot to post our bankers ratio: China is 5%

[MarkVA71]

12:27 PM on 12/01/2009

Solution: do away with money!

[futate01]

04:24 PM on 12/01/2009

Yeah real brilliant there Forest.