the Scandinavian Miracle

Newsweek this week has a possibly more up-to-date table, for foreign debt per capita, on the back page this week but i couldn't find an online version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_external_debt

Rank ↓ Country - Entity ↓ External debt
(millions US$) ↓ Date of information ↓ External debt
per capita (US$) ↓ Date of population* ↓ External debt (% of GDP) ↓
73 Monaco $18,000 2000 $540,000 2000 est. 1843.70%
7 Ireland $1,841,000 6/30/2007 $448,032 30-Jun-08 960.86%
32 Iceland $116,053[6] 6/30/2009 $362,942 2008 998.64%[7]
9 Switzerland $1,340,000 6/30/2007 $174,526 30-Jun-07 441.95%
2 United Kingdom $12,670,000[citation needed] 6/24/2009 $174,167 July 2008 374.96%
6 Netherlands $2,277,000 6/30/2007 $136,795 30-Jun-07 352.75%
10 Belgium $1,313,000 6/30/2007 $126,202 30-Jun-07 348.74%
18 Norway $469,100 6/30/2007 $98,530 30-Jun-07 190.23%
14 Austria $752,500 6/30/2007 $90,289 30-Jun-07 233.70%
17 Denmark $492,600 6/30/2007 $89,853 30-Jun-07 242.30%
16 Hong Kong $588,000 2007 $84,445 2007 est. 200.48%
4 France $4,396,000 6/30/2007 $68,183 30-Jun-07 211.86%
15 Sweden $598,200 6/30/2006 $65,048 30-Jun-06 176.72%
3 Germany $4,489,000 6/30/2007 $54,604 30-Jun-07 159.92%
22 Finland $271,200 6/30/2007 $51,073 30-Jun-07 143.95%
5 Spain $2,478,000 9/30/2008 $49,619 30 June 2007 est. 150.65%
19 Portugal $461,200 12/31/2007 $43,196 30-Jun-07 188.63%
1 United States[3] $13,773,000 6/30/2009 $42,343 31-March-08 95%
12 Australia $826,400 12/31/2007 $38,798 30-Jun-07 106.91%
57 Latvia $33,530 12/31/2007 $36,944 30-Jun-07 83.72%
64 Cyprus $26,970 12/31/2007 $30,550 31 December 2007 est. 126.03%
13 Canada $781,100 12/31/2008 $23,325 01-Jul-09 59.69%

...

I don't get the highlighting, dude.

Finland is not part of Scandinavia. Same goes for the Netherlands.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavia

Scandinavia[1] is a region in northern Europe that includes Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Finland is often considered a Scandinavian country in common English usage, and Iceland and the Faroe Islands are sometimes also included.[2]

i remember bolding nederlands when i meant to bold norway, then not going back to fix it.

and i forgot denmark!!!

Originally posted by zeeblebot
Finland is often considered a Scandinavian country in common English usage[2]

And just because English speakers screw up it makes the whole mistake right?

Anglocentric! Argh! Mods! Help!

Originally posted by Seitse
And just because English speakers screw up it makes the whole mistake right?

Anglocentric! Argh! Mods! Help!

hah! skewered and ready for the barbie!

What are you trying to argue here?

the SM is bought with foreign debt.

Originally posted by zeeblebot
the SM is bought with foreign debt.

Can you back that up?

Perhaps comparing the debt of other countries and then contrasting with their
quality of life rankings would make an interesting point to debate.

Originally posted by zeeblebot
the SM is bought with foreign debt.

Do you even understand what these figures mean?

They include "private debt". Most of the "private debt" is not consumers buying something abroad, but it's companies trading with each other and being in debt with each other. If Norway trades more with Sweden, the figure will be higher. If Vermont trades more with Massachusetts, nothing changes.

Even the public debt figures cannot be readily compared as you have to take into account the balance sheets of (public) pension funds, state investment funds and the value of state-owned assets.

Originally posted by zeeblebot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavia

Scandinavia[1] is a region in northern Europe that includes Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Finland is often considered a Scandinavian country in common English usage, and Iceland and the Faroe Islands are sometimes also included.[2]

Good for wikipedia and its inclusive approach. It offers a 'wider', incorrect definition of "Scandanavia" so as not to make the ignorant feel not left out. Three cheers for dumbing down!

Originally posted by FMF
Good for wikipedia and its inclusive approach. It offers a 'wider', incorrect definition of "Scandanavia" so as not to make the ignorant feel not left out. Three cheers for dumbing down!

Lulz

here's the Newsweek figures.

---

Foreign debt per capita. Figures based on external government debt, second quarter 2009. Sources: International Monetary Fund, U.S. Census Bureau, World Bank.

27,746 : Greeks
27,023 : Belgians
26,502 : Austrians
24,247 : Irish
21,402 : Norwegians
21,089 : Italians
20,412 : Dutch
18,946 : French
15,574 : Germans
13,617 : Finns
11,094 : Americans 😵
09,410 : Danes
08,715 : Spaniards
07.058 : Swedes
06,526 : Brits
05,802 : Hungarians
05,322 : Japanese
05,213 : Canadians
03,843 : Israelis
03,635 : Slovenes

Newsweek, Dec. 14, 2009, p. 72.

Originally posted by Seitse
Can you back that up?

Perhaps comparing the debt of other countries and then contrasting with their
quality of life rankings would make an interesting point to debate.

it's in the OP. you can add quality of life rankings if you want. i don't see the point.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008%E2%80%932009_Icelandic_financial_crisis

A number of writers have linked Iceland's woes to the nation's adoption of neo-liberal economic policies starting in the 1990s.[109][110][111][112]