Creative New

Via financialsense

The intent of this article is to compare the net wealth of selected nations. The net wealth figures (actually labeled as ‘Net Debt’) for the G-7 nations (US, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy and Canada) can be found on the International Monetary Fund website here. It should be noted that all of the G-7 countries have greater government liabilities than assets.

* Net debt comprises the stock (at year-end) of all government gross liabilities (both to residents and non-residents) minus all government assets (domestic as well as foreign). To avoid double counting, the data are based on a consolidated account (eliminating liabilities and assets between components of the government, such as budgetary units and social security funds). General government should reflect a consolidated account of central government plus state, provincial, or local governments. Debt data are not always comparable across countries.

The net worth for the non G-7 countries was calculated using the following formula:

Net Worth = Assets (Foreign Reserves + Sovereign Wealth Fund Holdings)

-                      Liabilities (Public Debt)