Peak Oil
Donate Bitcoin

Donate Paypal


PeakOil is You

PeakOil is You

And the world's most indebted nation is . . .

Discussions about the economic and financial ramifications of PEAK OIL
Post a reply

And the world's most indebted nation is . . .

Unread postby copious.abundance » Wed 22 Apr 2009, 21:11:41

. . . Ireland!

As measured by external debt as a percentage of GDP:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/30308959?slide=16

. . . and with a hefty $549,819 in external debt per capita.


US is 15th with a much more modest $44,358 per capita.
Stuff for doomers to contemplate:
http://peakoil.com/forums/post1190117.html#p1190117
http://peakoil.com/forums/post1193930.html#p1193930
http://peakoil.com/forums/post1206767.html#p1206767
User avatar
copious.abundance
Fission
Fission
 
Posts: 9589
Joined: Wed 26 Mar 2008, 03:00:00
Location: Cornucopia
Top

Re: And the world's most indebted nation is . . .

Unread postby Consensi » Wed 22 Apr 2009, 22:14:55

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('OilFinder2', '.') . . Ireland!
As measured by external debt as a percentage of GDP.....

Gross external debt: $2.311 trillion (Q4 2008)
2008 GDP: $285 billion

Incredible, if I read this correctly they will never be able to service this debt.

Only a few years ago (maybe two years) I was reading about how the Irish economy
was booming and attracting companies, and high skilled workers, from the US and
the UK. What the hell happened in such a short period of time ?

The top three debtors are Western European countries.
Then there is Iceland....

What a stinkin mess.
Consensi
Peat
Peat
 
Posts: 112
Joined: Wed 28 May 2008, 03:00:00
Top

Re: And the world's most indebted nation is . . .

Unread postby turner » Wed 22 Apr 2009, 23:08:05

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Consensi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('OilFinder2', '.') . . Ireland!
As measured by external debt as a percentage of GDP.....

Gross external debt: $2.311 trillion (Q4 2008)
2008 GDP: $285 billion

Incredible, if I read this correctly they will never be able to service this debt.

Only a few years ago (maybe two years) I was reading about how the Irish economy
was booming and attracting companies, and high skilled workers, from the US and
the UK. What the hell happened in such a short period of time ?

The top three debtors are Western European countries.
Then there is Iceland....

What a stinkin mess.


Irelands property boom has been out of control for a number of years and as expected a limit has been reached. I've just been there and was staggered to see the huge number of new and large houses compared to 11 years ago.I'm not sure where all the money has come from to support the building boom. Locals tell me that it has been crazy and everything has gone up ridiculously in price, not only real estate but also general living expenses. To give you some examples from my trip: car hire U$360 for 4 days, Starbucks coffee $5.20, McDonalds meal $8.50. I couldn't believe the cost particularly as so many people I talked to had no work or not enough work.
Foreign companies are now starting to relocate some of their operations to Eastern Europe where it is cheaper, further exacerbating existing employment problems.
User avatar
turner
Peat
Peat
 
Posts: 168
Joined: Tue 10 Jun 2008, 03:00:00
Top

Re: And the world's most indebted nation is . . .

Unread postby Keith_McClary » Thu 23 Apr 2009, 00:08:50

"Gross external debt" includes private debts. So, if some people in your country have large debts to foreigners, your country has a large "Gross external debt".

But, it's not your debt or your government's debt, so it's not your problem.

Unless you are American - your government has guaranteed these private debts (AIG bailout) so you and your descendants will be paying, paying ...
Facebook knows you're a dog.
User avatar
Keith_McClary
Light Sweet Crude
Light Sweet Crude
 
Posts: 7344
Joined: Wed 21 Jul 2004, 03:00:00
Location: Suburban tar sands
Top

Re: And the world's most indebted nation is . . .

Unread postby Bytesmiths » Thu 23 Apr 2009, 00:34:57

And yet, the Irish are among the happiest in the world, surpassed only by Nigeria and Venezuela. (The US is #7, just below the Phillippines.)

They also use the most fertilizer and drink the most beer and find school the most boring, but also drink the least coffee. Coincidence? You decide! :-D
:::: Jan Steinman, Communication Steward, EcoReality, a forming sustainable community. Be the change! ::::
User avatar
Bytesmiths
Tar Sands
Tar Sands
 
Posts: 730
Joined: Wed 27 Oct 2004, 03:00:00
Location: Salt Spring Island, Cascadia
Top

Re: And the world's most indebted nation is . . .

Unread postby Daniel_Plainview » Thu 23 Apr 2009, 00:45:51

United Kingdom :shock:

External debt (as % of GDP): 336%
External debt per capita: $153,616
User avatar
Daniel_Plainview
Prognosticator
Prognosticator
 
Posts: 4220
Joined: Tue 06 May 2008, 03:00:00
Location: 7035 Hollis ... Near the Observatory ... Just down the way, tucked back in the small woods
Top

Re: And the world's most indebted nation is . . .

Unread postby Tyler_JC » Thu 23 Apr 2009, 01:18:24

I'd like to see how they define foreign debt.

If I personally owe a billion dollars to a German bank, does that mean the US has a foreign debt liability of a billion dollars?

Moreover, Hong Kong number 4? Huh?

I think they are ignoring net liabilities and focusing only on gross amounts.

If I owe a million to you and you owe a million to me, we have no net external debt but the gross amount appears to be large.

I wouldn't give much credibility to this report.
"www.peakoil.com is the Myspace of the Apocalypse."
Tyler_JC
Expert
Expert
 
Posts: 5438
Joined: Sat 25 Sep 2004, 03:00:00
Location: Boston, MA
Top

Re: And the world's most indebted nation is . . .

Unread postby Sixstrings » Thu 23 Apr 2009, 01:27:45

I don't know about the usefulness of this list. For starters, does GDP take into account assets held in other nations? As in, the British own quite a bit in the US. I'm guessing this doesn't count towards their gross *domestic* product, but BP is still British Petroleum after all.
User avatar
Sixstrings
Fusion
Fusion
 
Posts: 15160
Joined: Tue 08 Jul 2008, 03:00:00
Top
Post a reply

Return to Economics & Finance

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest



cron