A country with slow economic growth receives less in tax revenue and has to borrow money that accumulates as public debt. This may not be a bad thing unless the future economic wellbeing of a country is at risk. The map below by howmuch.net compares debt-to-GDP ratios of the world’s most representative economies. The countries with the highest debt-to-debt ratios are Japan (230%), Greece (177%), Lebanon (134%), Jamaica (133%), Italy (132%), and Portugal (130%).Greece is dealing with the financial turmoil caused by the inability to pay off debt.

Interestingly, the countries with the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios (Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, UAE, and Russia) all have large nationalized natural resource (oil and natural gas) industries, providing a steady source of income.