From what I had heard I would have agreed until I saw the debt table from the post by Risebabyrise immediatelyabove your post. Providing the numbers are accurate, then Italy and Spain are no where near the worst and UK and Ireland are standing head and shoulders above everyone else. Japan didn't even rate a mention, however from all accounts they should be there.
A look at a couple of other sources does however paint a different picture. CNBC quotes the US per capita debt at $47,664 while Bloomberg's is $58,604 and brings them in at third place behind Japan and Ireland. In fact the differentiation in figures is surprising, even if there is a year or two's difference. The result in CNBC's figure for Hong Kong is also unexpected with an external debt load of $131,380, but then again Bloomberg states only $13,261. Australia comes in at number 22 on Bloomberg. Nigeria tops the list with the lowest levels of debt.; shame they don't do much for the majority of their citizens who continue to live in poverty.
