<p>NIIP includes (and in fact is predominantly) personal assets.</p>

<p>The government of Japan could not sell the assets of its citizens to satisfy its sovereign debt. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-27T23:25:47.317Z
The zerohedge.com graph is a bit misleading then as it includes private debt, right? Where could I find information on sovereign assets?
waffa15
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-27T15:44:23.967Z
2015-02-27T15:44:23.967Z
Jason Nichols
<p>Most people in the media talk about how the total debt level of a nation relative to its GDP is a measure of how "screwed" the country is. For example, see this: <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/goldmans-sigma-x-hints-who-next-contagion-target" rel="nofollow">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/goldmans-sigma-x-hints-who-next-contagion-target</a></p>

<p>It seems to imply that UK is in bad shape but nobody seems to pay attention to it?
Japan also not looking good.</p>

<p>However, look at the Net International Investment Position (NIIP) of these countries:
UK: about 0% of GDP (equal amount of debt and assets)
Japan: >50% of GDP (Japan holds more assets than debt)</p>

<p>"A country's external debt includes both its government debt and private debt, and similarly its public and privately held (by its legal residents) external assets are also taken into account when calculating its NIIP"</p>

<p>If Japan needed to pay back its debt, couldn't it just sell some of the assets it holds and repay that way? </p>

<p>Is there something I'm missing here? Which is the right way to look at things?</p>

<macroeconomics><debt>
Why does nation's total debt matter and not NIIP?
waffa15
# Why does nation's total debt matter and not NIIP?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-02-26)

Most people in the media talk about how the total debt level of a nation relative to its GDP is a measure of how "screwed" the country is. For example, see this: <http://www.zerohedge.com/news/goldmans-sigma-x-hints-who-next-contagion-target>

It seems to imply that UK is in bad shape but nobody seems to pay attention to it?
Japan also not looking good.

However, look at the Net International Investment Position (NIIP) of these countries:
UK: about 0% of GDP (equal amount of debt and assets)
Japan: >50% of GDP (Japan holds more assets than debt)

"A country's external debt includes both its government debt and private debt, and similarly its public and privately held (by its legal residents) external assets are also taken into account when calculating its NIIP"

If Japan needed to pay back its debt, couldn't it just sell some of the assets it holds and repay that way?

Is there something I'm missing here? Which is the right way to look at things?

**Tags:** macroeconomics, debt


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-02-27. Score: 2

NIIP includes (and in fact is predominantly) personal assets.

The government of Japan could not sell the assets of its citizens to satisfy its sovereign debt.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: The zerohedge.com graph is a bit misleading then as it includes private debt, right? Where could I find information on sovereign assets?  

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