Is this chart the best way to judge which countries in the world are in the best financial shape? Or is there some other criteria that one should consider?
(Top 3 are Chinese)
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External debt isn’t an indicator I would ever use to judge a country’s “financial shape.” It’s sole purpose is as a scare tactic in bogus ideologically-driven arguments about OMG! China owns us!
In addition, the top three in that chart are not “Chinese.” They are Hong Kong, which relies on its quasi-independence from China; Singapore, which is an independent country, and the Republic of China or Taiwan, another independent country. China in the usual shorthand is the People’s Republic of China, ranked 10th, but with no numbers given for it.
No one indicator means anything. If I had to put together a basket of indicators, though, I’d start with GDP, either nominal or per capita.
What I meant was that the 3 top areas are inhabited by Chinese people.
There dozens of countries inhibited by Chinese people, including most Western countries.
This is not the sole purpose of national debt.
You know I meant PRIMARILY. OR didn’t you?
And what did you mean “There dozens…” Did you mean, "They’re dozens…?
External debt represents net assets held abroad or…
Assets that the country owns in foreign countries
minus
assets that foreign countries own in the country in question.
China owns a lot of foreign assets: in particular they own US Treasury bonds. They do this because purchases of foreign currency weakens the Chinese currency and therefore makes their exports more attractive. Secondly, large holding of foreign reserves protect them in case speculators decide to attack their currency. Neither of these two aspects suggests a particularly strong country.
Candyman: National debt is something else. It represents what the government owes, to both foreign and domestic residents.
Please define, “Financial shape”. Are you concerned about whether the country is in recession? Are you thinking about their growth prospects? Their odds of being a top 10 per capita income country in 20 years? International trust in their government’s debt? International competitiveness? Well being of the citizenry?
GDP growth rate
Inflation rate
Current account balance / GDP
I suspected that you meant countries with majority Han Chinese populations, but your contention was somewhat imprecise.
But good for you: you caught me making a typo.
And the United States is inhabited heavily by German and Irish people.