External debt - this is the amount that is formed as a result of the influx of loan capital into the country. In connection with the receipt of third-party funds, obligations arise to repay loans, credits, loans and pay interest. The total external debt in the world is more than two trillion dollars. In this case, loans were taken only from countries with limited convertible or non-convertible currencies. For others, external debt is not formally a problem. Such powers can fulfill their financial obligations to non-residents using the national currency, changing it to a foreign one. Thus, these countries pay external debt using not only external but also domestic assets. However, according to informal estimates, it is in these powers that the financial obligations are greatest.
External debt may be private. It is about seven hundred trillion dollars. This amount is formed by the obligations of banks and firms.
There is the concept of "external debt of the state." It is about 1.7 trillion. dollars. It is formed from third-party financial obligations of state bodies (including local authorities) and from government-guaranteed third-party obligations in the private sector.
The following countries are leaders in terms of external debt: Brazil, China, Russia, Argentina, Mexico, Turkey, South Korea, Indonesia. By the beginning of the decade, all these powers had financial obligations exceeding one hundred billion, and in Brazil even two hundred billion dollars.
At the same time, experts point out that external debt is burdened not only by its size, but also by loan payments.
The severity of financial obligations can be considered on the example of Russia.
According to expert data, the size of the country's external debt by the beginning of 2004 was equal to one hundred eighty-two billion dollars. At the exchange rate in relation to GDP, this was 42%, and in relation to the annual export of services and goods - 120%. These indicators are regarded by the authors as moderate.
The severity of servicing financial obligations can be determined using another indicator. So, by 2003, Russia had spent (according to expert estimates) about thirty-five billion dollars. Relative to the main source of foreign currency - income from the export of services and goods - this amounted to about 23%. A dangerous threshold is considered an indicator of 20-25%.
Experts note that, despite the urgency of the problem of Russia's external debt, its content (problems) has changed somewhat. Private financial obligations are more relevant today. As a result of a significant influx of gold and foreign exchange reserves and the state budget of petrodollars, Russia's public debt tends to decline.
It should be noted that the country's financial obligations have not only negative, but also positive aspects. Often, modern economists point out the difficulty of servicing loans, the emergence of political and economic dependence on lenders, and the inefficient use of loan funds. To a greater extent, this position is associated with the developing debt crisis in different countries. At the same time, other economists point out that foreign loans significantly improve the economic condition of the state. The new industrial powers are using the influx of third-party loan capital for their rapid development.
It is difficult enough to strike a balance between the positive and negative sides of external debt. However, it can be assumed that the positive aspects outweigh the negative ones when the borrowed funds are distributed so efficiently that there are no difficulties in servicing financial obligations. For this, according to experts, the loan capital should be directed not so much at restoring the state budget as at long-term investments in the country's economy.