In 2016 worldwide debt has reached a whopping $164 trillion. And the further we go, the larger it gets. And as we know national debt has never done any country any favors. If anything it is a serious threat to the overall health of the national economy. And the larger the debt is the more unstable the national currency is.
Although not extremely dangerous, these are the countries where national debt-to-GDP ratio is the largest. The first part of our research can be foundhere. And we continue to explore!
6. Belgium
7. Portugal
8. Italy
9. Greece
10. Japan
6. Belgium
Debt-to-GDP ratio: 128 percent.
Belgium is not exactly known for the national debt. If we know Belgium for something it is for being a country housing NATO HQ, waffles, movies and rich history. But not the national debt, no. But as we know by the example of the USA, exterior can be deceiving and there is a huge possibility that Belgium is NOT doing as fine as we all would imagine.
7. Portugal
Debt-to-GDP ratio: 146 percent.
Another not-surprising participant of the list. Just like its closest and only for that matter neighboring country Spain, Portugal was heavily damaged by 2008 financial crisis. The main problem there is the fact that Portugal doesn’t really have a heavy manufacturing-based economy and that there is no way that we are going to see a magic recovery any time soon.
On the contrary.
If all of the prediction are correct and we are on the brink of financial crisis once again, it is possible that Portugal is going to sink even lower.
8. Italy
Debt-to-GDP ratio: 156 percent.
Being one of the most powerful countries on Eurozone doesn’t exactly save you from financial troubles. And Italy is the living proof for the statement. Their financial problems got so intense that last year there were even talks about the possibility of Italy exiting the Eurozone and adopting lira once again.
Although the law was never accepted, it shows just how much troubles there are in the country.
9. Greece
Debt-to-GDP ratio: 188 percent.
If Eurozone was a family, then Greece would be the trouble child of it. Being a beautiful and very attractive country, Greece remains a sore spot of Eurozone. It is not clear how the country would have survived without money from Germany. It became so hard for Greece to stay afloat that they even attempted to gain WWII reparation money from Germany 70 years after the war was over and all of the settlements have been already paid.
If that is not the sign of being desperate, I don’t know what is.
10. Japan
Debt-to-GDP ratio: 235 percent.
And finally – Japan.
Honestly. It doesn’t seem that the economy of the country is doing bad at all, so why is the ratio so big? It seems that I could write a whole scientific research based on this question but it seems that Japan is doing just fine without it.
It might be the fact that the Central Bank of Japan prefers not to touch interest rates of the country and as a result the only support for the currency is its status in the world arena – nothing more. It is possible that the economy of the country would improve if it saw some inside support.
