UK - The Most Indebted Country in World
GIVEN below is an extract from the Budget of the new government of UK presented yesterday.
Over the past decade, economic growth in the UK has been driven by the accumulation of unsustainable levels of private sector debt and rising public sector debt. This pattern of unbalanced growth and excessive debt has helped create the exceptional economic and fiscal challenges that the Government must address, to restore the economy to sustainable, balanced and private sector-led growth.
By 2008, the household saving ratio had fallen to the lowest level since the 1950s and household debt had risen to 100 per cent of GDP, as households borrowed heavily to purchase increasingly expensive property. Companies also took on rising levels of debt, reaching 110 per cent of GDP by 2008. Within the financial sector, the accumulation of debt was even greater. While rising debt was an international phenomenon, it was more pronounced in the UK than in most other countries. It has been estimated that the UK has become the most indebted country in the world.