How does Dubai's debt compare?

Global Debt

The UAE is in the midst of a crisis the likes of which have been unknown to the region until some of its cities opens its gates to foreign wealth.

Over the last six years Dubai has been the wonder kid of the Middle East, attracting the world's biggest investors and some of the most ambitious and outlandish infrastructure projects the world has ever seen. But Dubai's non-value based economy has finally failed and its largest and most important state-backed group, Dubai World, last week asked for a delay on repaying its US$60 billion (39 billion euros) debt until at least May.

One thing that the crisis has provided to the world, is an insight into the incredible sums of money banks are now lending to one another.

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Alarm bells ringing

Ever since the Dubai government were forced to guarantee banks' debt, global attention has focused on its worldwide exposure but sets alarm bells ringing as to the extent of national debt around the world.

Thanks to the Bank for International Settlements and the Guardian newspaper, we can start to get an idea how much countries are in the red and to whom they are indebted to.

The data, from the second quarter of this year, shows how much money banks in the major lending regions have lent to every country in the world. The UK is one of the world's biggest lenders. Find out where the money has gone and how Dubai compares.

Lending has become more aggressive

The data doesn't include government or public debt and instead it gives us private loans made to citizens and companies.

International lending has become more and more aggressive in recent years thanks to increasingly globalised markets, while credit has been cheap and available. But this has contributed to the crippling global recession and, of course, the current situation in Dubai.

The infographic above gives a simple breakdown of how the countries at the top of the debt tree. America and the UK, look away now...

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