External Debt

[Eugine]

External debt is the collective debt owed by a nation to foreign creditors. It includes debt taken on by citizens, businesses, and government agencies, with creditors like international organizations, foreign governments, foreign banks, and so forth. Many countries carry very high external debt, with the United States typically at the top of the list, but as long as they can service their debt successfully, it may not be regarded as a financial risk. Nations with weak economies, however, can have trouble paying for their external debt and this can become a problem.