What will a surging U.S. dollar and a weak euro mean for Americans?

For the first time in 20 years, the U.S. dollar is nearly equal in value to the euro.

While that may sound good for the dollar, it could be a double-edged sword.

Why? If the dollar becomes too strong, it could harm business for American companies, because their goods may become more expensive for foreign buyers. And if sales of U.S. exports decrease, that could further slow down an already stalled U.S. economy.

On the other hand, a strong dollar helps Americans who are traveling in Europe, giving them more buying power.

The weakening euro has been getting closer to parity with the U.S. dollar since mid-2021. A very robust June jobs report on Friday, and analysts' expectations of a further 0.75 percentage point hike by the Federal Reserve this month are making the dollar stronger than expected.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, estimates a 10% increase in the dollar within the past year against the foreign currencies.

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Why is the US dollar so strong right now?

"Generally, the euro has been higher than the dollar," Zandi said. "But there's been a weakening and the euro is now more vulnerable due to the Russian invasion in Ukraine and that's leading to higher oil prices, natural gas, and agricultural prices."

What does a stronger US dollar mean for American travelers visiting Europe?

"Going to Europe looks a lot cheaper to Americans compared to last summer," Zandi said. "With a stronger dollar that's helping offset the cost of airfare and hotel room rates about 10- to 20% cheaper.

"If you're thinking about traveling and have some excess savings, now is the time to go."

Of course, the opposite is true for European travelers heading to the states.

"The U.S. looks incredibly expensive to Europeans compared to this time last year, about 10- to 15% more," he said.

What does a strong U.S. dollar mean for imports, exports?

Zandi said that while a strong dollar may help consumers buy more imported goods, it's not so good for exports.

"if you're an importer, the strength of the dollar is a good thing, but it's a bad thing globally," Zandi said. "Like, in Europe, or in the U.K., Australia, even Canada, you have to pay for more U.S. goods coming in. It adds more to the global inflationary problems."

Zandi expects the dollar's strength against the euro to last for a year or two.

"I don't see the dollar significantly weakening any time soon," he said.

Follow Terry Collins on Twitter at @terryscollins

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London (CNN Business) The US dollar is rising at a blistering clip, reaching its strongest level against other major currencies in almost two decades.

That's helpful for American tourists traveling abroad this summer. But on Wall Street, it's growing cause for concern.

"A very strong US dollar provides yet another headwind for earnings," Morgan Stanley equity strategist Michael Wilson told clients this week.

The US Dollar Index has shot up 4% in the past month and nearly 13% year-to-date, while other top currencies have suffered.

The euro has dropped 12% this year. On Tuesday, it hit parity with the US dollar for the first time in 20 years as fears about the region's economy — stoked by Russia's war in Ukraine — push investors to dump their holdings. The pound has retreated toward levels seen during the worst days of the pandemic.

The dollar's ascent began in anticipation of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, which make the United States a more attractive place to park cash. But in recent weeks, the dollar has dominated for other reasons.

First, there's its reputation as a safe haven investment. When anxiety builds about the health of the global economy, and the likelihood of a recession increases, investors rush to scoop up dollars as a store of value.

"In the current atmosphere of risk aversion in markets, the US dollar rally is likely to continue in the near term," Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, said in a recent research note.

Other traditional safe haven currencies aren't getting the same boost. The Swiss franc is up nearly 8% this year. Japan's yen has been volatile and recently hit its weakest level against the dollar since 1998.

That's in part because the US economy looks stronger than its peers, another major driver of the dollar's climb.

Europe is dealing with a growing energy crisis that could make it much harder for the European Central Bank to fight inflation. Some officials are worried that the crucial Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia to Germany, which is closed for routine maintenance, may not restart as normal later this month. That could force governments to make emergency interventions.

"A scenario where the euro area has to ration gas supplies to industry — if that's not an economic crisis, what is?" Jordan Rochester, currency strategist at Nomura, said Tuesday. He predicted the euro will keep falling.

The United Kingdom, meanwhile, is paralyzed by a political vacuum as the race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister kicks off, and Japan appears locked in to super-easy monetary policy, opting to prop up the economy instead of putting a lid on price increases.

What it all means: A stronger dollar gives Americans more spending power when they're outside the country. But as Wilson noted, it's not necessarily a good thing for stocks, since it eats into the value of Corporate America's international sales and profits.

US firms generate about 30% of their sales abroad, he calculated. And at a time when they're already dealing with the effects of inflation, extra inventory and shifts in demand, it's an additional drag.

"This dollar strength is just another reason to think earnings revisions are coming down over the next few earnings seasons," Wilson said. "Therefore, the recent rally in stocks is likely to fizzle out before too long."

China tries to stem growing anger over frozen bank deposits

Protests outside banks from depositors demanding their money back aren't typically a sign that an economy is running smoothly — hence the concern that recent demonstrations in China may indicate deeper problems.

The latest: Authorities said late Monday that they will start refunding bank customers whose accounts have been frozen for months after a mass protest on Sunday in the central Henan province was crushed violently by authorities.

It was the largest action yet by depositors, who have been fighting for months to retrieve their frozen savings.

Customers from four rural banks in Henan, and one in the neighboring Anhui province, will be repaid starting Friday, according to provincial financial regulators. The first payments will be sent to customers with a combined amount of less than 50,000 yuan ($7,445) on deposit at a single bank.

The rural banks have still not offered a clear explanation as to why and for how long the funds will remain frozen, my CNN Business colleague Laura He reports.

Runs on small Chinese banks have become more frequent in recent years, and some have been accused of financial impropriety or corruption. But experts worry that bigger cracks could be forming, caused by fallout from a real estate crash and soaring bad debts related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

As many as 400,000 customers across China have been unable to access their savings at the rural banks in Henan and Anhui provinces, according to an estimate in April by Sanlian Lifeweek, a state-owned magazine.

That's a tiny number in the context of China's vast banking system, but could still present a big risk.

"Despite the small size of the assets involved, the social impact of the incident could be significant if it is not handled appropriately," said Betty Wang, senior China economist at ANZ.

Klarna has lost 85% of its value in a year

What a difference a year makes for a company like Klarna.

One year ago, the Swedish payments firm was Europe's hottest startup. It was valued at nearly $46 billion in June 2021 as consumers turned to online shopping during the pandemic and embraced "buy now, pay later" services. A blockbuster initial public offering was in sight, promising a windfall for high-profile backers including SoftBank, Sequoia Capital and SilverLake.

Circumstances have changed dramatically. Klarna announced on Monday that it had raised $800 million in new financing at a valuation of just $6.7 billion. That means 85% of its value has evaporated.

Klarna and its investors said the broader market environment is to blame, not its business model.

"The shift in Klarna's valuation is entirely due to investors suddenly voting in the opposite manner to the way they voted for the past few years," Sequoia partner Michael Moritz said. "Eventually, after investors emerge from their bunkers, the stocks of Klarna and other first-rate companies will receive the attention they deserve."

Klarna now has 150 million users worldwide, almost 30 million of which are in the United States. But in recent months, investors have become skeptical of the fast-growing tech companies they once loved. Instead, they're doubling down on firms that consistently generate profits.

That's not Klarna. The company, which has reported steep losses, announced that it was laying off 10% of its workforce in May.

Up next

PepsiCo PEP reports earnings before US markets open.

Coming tomorrow: Attention will be laser-focused on the latest consumer inflation data in the United States. Economists polled by Refinitiv expect to learn that prices rose 8.8% in the 12 months to June, an even faster increase than was recorded in May.

Stocks week ahead: Is the US dollar in danger? | CNN Business

A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business' Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here

New York (CNN Business) The US may have the world's most powerful military, but the dollar is its greatest weapon. Now, after nearly 80 years of dollar dominance, the US might be in danger of losing its global reserve currency status .

About 60% of the $12.8 trillion in global currency reserves are currently held in dollars, giving the US an exorbitant privilege over other countries. And that privilege pays: Because US government debt backed by the dollar is very attractive, interest rates are lower. The US gets to borrow from other countries in its own currency — so if the US dollar loses value, debt does too. American businesses can make international transactions in dollars without having to pay conversion fees.

Perhaps most importantly, in extreme circumstances the US can cut off dollar access to central banks around the globe, isolating and draining their economies. Raghuram Rajan, the former governor of the Reserve Bank of India calls this power an "economic weapon of mass destruction."

The US detonated this weapon on Russia in February after the country invaded Ukraine, freezing $630 billion worth of forex reserves and deeply undermining the value of the ruble . That gave America the ability to punish Russia without getting US troops involved in war.

But with great power comes great responsibility: When you use a weapon of mass destruction, even an economic one, people get spooked. To protect themselves from the same fate as Russia, other countries diversify their investments away from the US dollar into other currencies.

That's where the country's reserve currency status could run into problems.

Weaponizing the dollar, said Bank of America strategists' Michael Hartnett, could lead to its debasement. The "balkanization of global financial systems" erodes America's role as the reserve currency, he added.

A new research paper by the International Monetary Fund found that the dollar share of international reserves have been in decline for the past two decades, around the same time the United States began its war on terror and its counter-terror sanctions. One quarter of reserves have since shifted from the dollar to Chinese yuan , and the other three quarters have moved into currencies of smaller countries.

"These observations provide hints of how the international system may evolve going forward," warned the paper's co-authors, Serkan Arslanalp of the IMF, Barry Eichengreen of the University of California Berkeley and Chima Simpson-Bell also of the IMF.

Russia and China are also hoping to guide the evolution of the international system.

Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened on Thursday to end gas exports to countries that do not open an account with a Russian bank and pay in rubles. The European Union gets about 40% of its gas and 30% of its oil from Russia with no easy alternatives.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is in talks with Beijing to accept yuan instead of dollars for Chinese oil sales.

So is king dollar about to be dethroned?

If the past two years have taught us anything, it's that nothing is impossible. But the prospect of the US losing that exorbitant privilege is very unlikely.

For one thing, the alternatives aren't great. China has been pushing the yuan for years and only about 3% of global transactions are conducted in the currency, that's compared to 40% for the dollar.

The US is also still fairly attractive to the rest of the globe. The US equity market is the largest and most liquid stock market in the world, and foreign capital is flowing into the country. Global foreign-direct investment flows grew by 77% to an estimated $1.65 trillion in 2021, but the investment in the US soared by 114% to $323 billion, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Goodbye Q1, hello Q2!

The second quarter may not be fun, but at least we'll be prepared for it.

The seesaw first quarter of 2022 came to a bitter end this week with major stock indices printing their worst performance in two years. Surging inflation, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and a speed-up of the Federal Reserve's rate-increase plan created a series of unique challenges for investors.

Those challenges will continue into the second quarter. But often the devil you know is better than the devil you don't.

We asked analysts what they predict will be the largest headwinds going into this quarter, and how they're preparing for them. Here's what we found.

Geopolitical unrest: Russia's invasion of Ukraine has stunned markets across the globe. The geopolitical unrest has rippled through energy markets, commodities, and even to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has stunned markets across the globe. The geopolitical unrest has rippled through energy markets, commodities, and even to food insecurity issues

Josh Leonardi, director of prime services at TD Securities is looking to commodities markets, where raw products are sold, to hedge against the Russian conflict. He likes wheat in particular. About a quarter of the world's wheat supply comes from Russia and Ukraine. Future contracts for the crop are through the roof as supply becomes scarce but demand remains the same.

It's probably best not to bet on oil and energy, since those commodities have been particularly volatile and reactive to news updates.

Inflation: The US is currently battling an The US is currently battling an inflation problem the likes of which it hasn't seen in 40 years, so it's time to look to real assets as a hedge on inflation, said Leonardi. That means investing in commodities, real estate, land, equipment and natural resources.

Interest in real estate investment is exploding, he said. "I don't know if anything is hotter on the market right now. You have everything from single- and multi-family homes, to data centers to cold storage facilities."

When investing in markets, look to companies that make money off of inflationary spikes. Banks earn more as interest rates rise and they profit from wider spreads. Companies with low capital needs are also good bets.

Rate hikes: The Federal Reserve is probably going to be aggressive in raising interest rates going forward, said Liz Anne Sonders, managing director and chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab.

Typically investors believe in a safety guard known as "The Fed put." It's the notion that enough market weakness will cause the Fed to stop raising interest rates and tighten policy, and perhaps even reverse and ease rates. Because inflation is so out of hand, there's no way that's going to happen this time around, said Sonders.

"Investors need to be aware of that, especially if they're being more aggressive because they think the Fed won't let markets down," said Sonders. They'll continue to raise rates and will do it to slow economic growth. That means the risk of recession is higher than it otherwise would be.

Up next

Monday: US motor vehicle sales for March released by BLS; The Investor Movement Index on Main Street sentiment released by TD Ameritrade

Tuesday: NY Fed President John Williams speaks about the economy

Wednesday: FOMC minutes released at 2 pm ET

Thursday: Weekly jobless claims released

Friday: Eli Lilly reports earnings before the bell

Qatar, China, Singapore: Top 25 richest countries in the world

Grant Suneson

24/7 Wall Street

As more wealth is created in the world, more of it is concentrated among the richest people in the richest countries. The combined gross domestic product of countries for which there is data adds up to $116.7 trillion. Nearly $93 trillion of that wealth is concentrated among just 25 countries.

GDP may be the standard method for gauging the size of a particular country or region’s economy, but it does not account for all of the wealth generated by that nation. A more accurate indicator of a country’s economic output is its gross national income, or GNI. This measure captures all economic activity within a nation’s borders in addition to the wealth created by nationally-owned entities operating in other countries.

Using data from the World Bank, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the GNI per capita of nearly 200 nations to identify the 25 richest countries. We also included life expectancy at birth from the World Bank.

The wealthiest 25 countries in the world tend to have complex and diverse economies. Many of these countries export goods and services from a variety of industries such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and aerospace.

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Yet some nations on this list rely almost exclusively on one product to fuel their economies. Some smaller countries that do not have a wide variety of industries still rank among the wealthiest nations in the world because they are among the countries that controls the world’s oil.

The wealthiest countries also tend to be the healthiest. The world average life expectancy at birth is 72.2 years, yet in each of the world’s 25 richest countries, the average life expectancy is at least several years, if not a full decade, longer. Some of the richest nations also rank among the healthiest countries in the world.

25. France

• GNI per capita: $39,784

• 2017 GDP: $2.6 trillion (10th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 67.1 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 82.5 years

With a gross domestic product of more than $2.6 trillion in 2017, France is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The French created nearly $40,000 in economic output per person in 2017. Like many other very wealthy nations, France's economy is complex and diverse, exporting over $500 billion worth of goods and services annually. The country's exports in 2017 included aerospace and automobile parts, medications, and more than $10 billion worth of wine.

Wealthy countries can afford to invest in health care infrastructure, and their residents can afford to lead healthier lives. As a result, the wealthiest nations tend to have the best health outcomes in the world. France's life expectancy at birth of 82.5 years is more than a decade higher than the average life expectancy worldwide.

24. Finland

• GNI per capita: $41,509

• 2017 GDP: $225.9 billion (61st out of 196 countries)

• Population: 5.5 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 81.4 years

Finland is one of just two dozen countries in the world where GNI per capita was over $40,000 in 2017. Finland has one of the most diverse export economies in the world, selling paper goods, refined petroleum, and various machinery around the world.

Finland's relative prosperity is more evenly distributed among its residents. Likely in part due to the relative equality of the society, the Nordic country's poverty rate is the lowest among all countries for which there is data. The country also has some of the best health outcomes as measured by life expectancy, maternal mortality, and infant mortality.

23. Bahrain

• GNI per capita: $41,557

• 2017 GDP: $64.7 billion (100th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 1.5 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 77.0 years

Bahrain's high gross national income per capita of $41,557 is bolstered by the country's very low unemployment rate. Less than 1% of the labor force in Bahrain is out of a job -- the second lowest unemployment rate of any country on this list. The country relies heavily on natural resources, particularly petroleum. Of the nation's exports in 2017, 38% came from refined petroleum. Iron ore and aluminum exports accounted for another 5.6%.

Bahrain's population is growing faster than any other country on this list, ranking second in the world with an annual population growth of 4.6%, more than four times the rate of the world's annual population growth.

22. Belgium

• GNI per capita: $43,260

• 2017 GDP: $486.5 billion (38th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 11.4 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 81.4 years

Belgium leans heavily on exports to keep its economy running. The country's exports of goods and services accounted for more than 85% of GDP. Worldwide, exports account for less than 30% of total GDP. Belgium primary exports include medicine, cars, refined petroleum, and diamonds.

To stay on the cutting edge of the products it manufactures and sells, research and development expenditure accounts for nearly 2.5% of Belgium's GDP, one of the highest shares of any country in the world.

21. Australia

• GNI per capita: $43,555

• 2017 GDP: $1.1 trillion (20th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 24.6 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 82.5 years

Australia is one of just 23 countries with a GDP of more than $1 trillion. Australia relies heavily on exports of natural resources -- particularly iron ore. It is the world's leading exporter of the mineral, accounting for 52% of the world's total supply. This pumps tens of billions of dollars into the national economy, accounting for one-fifth of Australia's total exports.

This relative affluence allows Australians to live relatively long, healthy lives. Only a handful of countries have a longer average life expectancy at birth than Australia's 82.5 years.

20. Canada

• GNI per capita: $43,559

• 2017 GDP: $1.6 trillion (15th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 36.7 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 82.5 years

With a GDP exceeding $1.6 trillion, Canada is one of the wealthiest and most economically productive countries in the world. Canada is the world's fourth largest exporter of crude petroleum, behind Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Iraq. In 2017 crude petroleum, accounting for 14% of Canada's total export value.

This relative prosperity has helped make Canada a desirable destination for immigrants. Though Canada has the world's 38th largest population with 36.7 million residents, it had the fourth highest net migration total in 2017, with a total of 1.1 million new residents.

19. Austria

• GNI per capita: $45,375

• 2017 GDP: $400.2 billion (45th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 8.8 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 81.6 years

Austria was the 30th largest exporter in the world in 2017, despite being just the 96th largest country in terms of population. Machines and transportation vehicles accounted for much of the country's exports worth.

Austria encourages innovation to bolster its economy. Like several other countries that rank among the richest in the world, research and development accounts for a significant percentage of Austria's GDP. Austria is one of just six countries in which research and development spending is equal to more than 3% of GDP.

18. Germany

• GNI per capita: $46,422

• 2017 GDP: $3.8 trillion (5th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 82.7 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 81.0 years

Germany has one of the largest economies in the world, with a GDP of nearly $3.8 trillion. Germany ranked as the third largest exporter in the world in 2017 after China and the U.S., exporting more than $1.7 trillion worth of goods that year.

Though Germany exports a wide array of goods, automobiles are the main industry, accounting for 12% of all German exports in 2017. Germany is well known for its automotive prowess. German auto manufacturers BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Volkwagen are some of the best known car brands in the world.

17. Sweden

• GNI per capita: $47,346

• 2017 GDP: $469.5 billion (40th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 10.1 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 82.3 years

Sweden invests more on education as a share of its GDP than almost any other country in the world. The country spends the equivalent of 7.6% of its GDP on education. This investment in education appears to be paying off as Sweden has among the highest primary school enrollment rates and primary school completion rates, setting its young residents up to be well educated and productive members of the economy in the future.

The Swedish economy is also driven by innovation. Research and development spending is equal to nearly 3.3% of Sweden's GDP, the fourth highest share of any country in the world.

16. Denmark

• GNI per capita: $48,260

• 2017 GDP: $272.5 billion (55th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 5.8 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 81.0 years

Denmark has one of the highest GNIs per capita, at more than $48,000. The country has a diverse economy, exporting billions of dollars worth of machines, chemical products, animal products, and other foodstuffs. Packaged medicaments make up the largest segment of Denmark's exports.

The wealth in Denmark tends to be distributed relatively evenly among people as measured by the Gini coefficient. Denmark has one of the lowest Gini coefficients in the world. Likely contributing to the high level of equality is Denmark's rank as the least corrupt country in the world, according to the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index.

15. Netherlands

• GNI per capita: $48,994

• 2017 GDP: $835.8 billion (27th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 17.1 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 81.6 years

One of the richest countries in the world, the Netherlands' GNI per capita is nearly $49,000. The country's economy relies heavily on exports. In 2017, the country's exports generated the equivalent of nearly 83% of the nation's GDP -- more than double the rate of the average country.

With an average life expectancy of 81.6 years at birth, the Netherlands has among the best health outcomes in the world. It also ranks better than most countries in terms of infant and maternal mortality.

14. Saudi Arabia

• GNI per capita: $49,626

• 2017 GDP: $1.6 trillion (16th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 32.9 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 74.7 years

Saudi Arabia ranks among the richest countries in the world for one reason -- oil. In the resource-rich kingdom, petroleum accounted for more than three-quarters of exports in 2017. No country exports more crude petroleum than Saudi Arabia.

While petroleum is lucrative, without a diversified economy, Saudi Arabia is vulnerable to fluctuations in oil prices. It is one of just two countries to rank among the richest in the world that also saw a decline in its GDP over the past year. The other, Kuwait, also relies heavily on petroleum. Saudi Arabia's economy contracted by nearly 0.9% in 2017.

13. Ireland

• GNI per capita: $52,755

• 2017 GDP: $320.2 billion (50th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 4.8 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 82.0 years

Ireland is one of just 13 countries in which the GNI per capita exceeded $50,000 in 2017. The country also has one of the fastest growing economies, with a 7.2% annual increase in its GDP. Worldwide, the annual GDP increase was less than 3.2%.

Ireland relies heavily on exports. Ireland's top exports are chemicals, like packaged medicaments. Its exports are actually worth more than its GDP, which is the case in only seven other countries. Ireland's exports are worth nearly 20% more than its GDP of over $320 billion.

12. United States

• GNI per capita: $55,351

• 2017 GDP: $17.7 trillion (2nd out of 196 countries)

• Population: 325.1 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 78.5 years

One of the wealthiest nations in the world, the United States has a GNI per capita of more than $55,000. With such relative prosperity, the United States has been an attractive destination for immigrants, and the U.S. reported net migration of 4.5 million people in 2017, the highest total of any nation in the world.

Unlike nearly every other nation to rank among the richest in the world, the United States does not rely heavily on exports. The total export value of goods and services from the United States is equal to just 12.1% of GDP, the lowest share on this list and one of the lowest in the world. For context, exports are equal to an average of 29.4% of GDP globally. Among the 25 richest countries for which there is data, the United States also has the highest level of income inequality.

11. Switzerland

• GNI per capita: $58,138

• 2017 GDP: $490.2 billion (37th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 8.5 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 83.6 years

One of the richest countries in the world, Switzerland has a GNI per capita of $58,138. Though Switzerland has a fairly diverse economy, gold makes up by far the largest share of its exports. About a quarter of the nation's $285 billion in exports in 2017 was in gold. Despite being a relatively small country of less than 8.5 million people, Switzerland is one of the countries that controls a large share of the world's gold.

Switzerland partially relies on innovation to drive economic growth by investing the equivalent of 3.4% of its GDP in research and development -- the third highest rate in the world.

10. Hong Kong

• GNI per capita: $58,420

• 2017 GDP: $414.3 billion (43rd out of 196 countries)

• Population: 7.4 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 84.7 years

Hong Kong is not a fully independent nation, but rather a special administrative region of China. But it has its own powerful economy with a GDP of $414.3 billion and a GNI per capita of $58,420 per person. In addition to being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, Hong Kong is also one of the healthiest. The average life expectancy at birth in the country of 84.7 years is more than 12 years longer than the global average and about six years longer than in the United States.

Hong Kong has a diverse economy, exporting machines like broadcasting equipment as well as precious metals and minerals like gold, silver, and diamonds.

9. Luxembourg

• GNI per capita: $65,101

• 2017 GDP: $55.5 billion (104th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 596,336

• Life expectancy at birth: 82.7 years

Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries in the world, both in terms of landmass and population, with fewer than 600,000 people. With a GDP of $55.5 billion, Luxembourg's GNI per capita is one of the highest in the world at $65,101.

No country relies more heavily on exports than Luxembourg. The total value of exported goods and services is equal to more than double the country's GDP -- the only place in the world where this is the case. Much of the nation's exports are machinery, iron, and plastics.

8. Norway

• GNI per capita: $67,529

• 2017 GDP: $342.8 billion (48th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 5.3 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 82.5 years

Despite being one of the smaller countries in the world with a population of 5.3 million, Norway has one of the larger economies, with a GDP of $342.8 billion. Since the discovery of offshore oil and gas in the 1960s, Norway has become a petroleum-producing powerhouse. In 2017, petroleum made up more than half of the Scandinavian country's exports.

Norway has among the best health outcomes in the world. The country has a life expectancy of 82.5 years, more than a decade higher than the global average. Norway also has among the lowest rates of maternal mortality and childhood mortality for children under five.

7. United Arab Emirates

• GNI per capita: $67,758

• 2017 GDP: $632.6 billion (31st out of 196 countries)

• Population: 9.4 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 77.4 years

Nearly half of all exports from the United Arab Emirates are forms of petroleum -- crude, refined, or gas. The country's exports also include precious metals and minerals like gold and diamonds. These valuable exports have helped make the UAE one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with a GNI per capita of $67,758.

The UAE has among the highest rates of primary school enrollment and primary school completion, setting up students for future success. The country also has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world, at 2.6%, just over half of the 5.0% worldwide unemployment rate.

6. Bermuda

• GNI per capita: $68,113

• 2017 GDP: $3.3 billion (169th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 65,441

• Life expectancy at birth: 81.4 years

The island nation of Bermuda is by far the least populous country to rank among the richest in the world, with a population of less than 66,000. Bermuda's exports are worth very little. The nation ranks among the wealthiest largely because of international businesses, like insurance and financial services companies that operate in the country. These businesses account for around 85% of Bermuda's GDP. Tourism is also an economic boon for the country accounting for a large share of total employment.

5. Kuwait

• GNI per capita: $72,872

• 2017 GDP: $271.1 billion (57th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 4.1 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 74.8 years

Kuwait is one of just five nations with a GNI per capita above $70,000. Unlike most other countries that rank among the wealthiest in the world, Kuwait does not have a diverse economy. Petroleum accounts for more than 84% of its exports. Kuwait ranks as one of the most corrupt nations on this list, likely resulting in an uneven dispersal of the wealth created from petroleum.

Along with fellow oil-rich nation Saudi Arabia, Kuwait is one of the only countries that rank among the richest in the world that saw a decline in their GDP in 2017. Kuwait actually had one of the sharpest decreases in GDP of any country, with an economic contraction of 2.9%.

4. Brunei

• GNI per capita: $76,427

• 2017 GDP: $30.8 billion (125th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 428,697

• Life expectancy at birth: 77.4 years

Petroleum accounted for more than 90% of Brunei's exports in 2017. As a result of its wealth of valuable resources, the relatively small Southeast Asian nation has become one of the world's wealthiest, with a GNI per capita in excess of $76,000. Citizens of the country do not have to pay taxes and still enjoy generous services provided by the public sector.

The country is not without its economic and social problems however. Operating under sharia law, citizens can be stoned for adultery and have a limb amputated for crimes like theft. Brunei also has the highest unemployment rate among the 25 richest countries at 9.2%. Worldwide, the unemployment rate is less than 5%.

3. Singapore

• GNI per capita: $82,503

• 2017 GDP: $480.0 billion (39th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 5.6 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 82.9 years

Sitting on the southern edge of Malaysia, Singapore is an important shipping point, connecting much of mainland Asia to the rest of the world. Singapore's economy, which has a GNI per capita of $82,503, is one of the most business-friendly in the world due in part to a lack of cumbersome regulations.

Singapore is the single largest seller of integrated circuits, or microchips, in the world. These circuits makes up 36% of Singapore's exports. As it relies heavily on the export of technology, Singapore invests a large amount, worth 2.2% of the nation's GDP, in research and development.

2. Macao SAR, China

• GNI per capita: $95,304

• 2017 GDP: $65.3 billion (98th out of 196 countries)

• Population: 0.6 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 84.0 years

Macao is another special administrative region of China, meaning it is not fully autonomous, as China handles foreign affairs and defense. Since allowing the foreign competition in its local casino industry starting in 2001, Macao has become one of the world's top gaming destinations, and the sector has pumped billions of dollars into the economy of this relatively small region. Only one nation has a higher GNI per capita than Macao's $95,000.

Macao's economy is growing faster than that of any country that ranks among the 25 richest in the world. The special administrative region's economy grew 9.1% in 2017, nearly triple the rate of the worldwide GDP growth.

1. Qatar

• GNI per capita: $116,799

• 2017 GDP: $308.6 billion (51st out of 196 countries)

• Population: 2.6 million

• Life expectancy at birth: 78.3 years

Qatar is, by far, the richest country in the world, with a GNI per capita of $116,799 -- more than $20,000 higher than any other nation. The country has more in oil reserves than all but two other countries worldwide -- equal to 13% of the global supply. This natural resource brings in tens of billions of dollars to the country of less than 3 million residents each year. Oil revenue helps subsidize government services in the country. Petroleum accounts for nearly all of Qatar's exports – 87%.

Thanks to its strong economy, Qatar's unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the world, at 0.2%.

Methodology

To identify the richest countries in the world, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the gross national income (GNI) per capita for 2017 from the World Bank’s “World Development Indicators Database.” GNI is in constant 2011 international dollars. Additional data on GDP, total population, and life expectancy for the most recent years available is also from the World Bank database. The Corruption Perceptions Index score for 2018 comes from the Transparency International CPI.

24/7 Wall Street is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

Poorest countries:These are the 25 poorest countries in the world

Inflation soars to nearly 80% in Turkey as food prices double

London/Istanbul (CNN Business) Turkey's annual rate of inflation hit almost 80% in June — its highest level in about two decades.

Consumer prices increased by 78.6% last month compared to June 2021, driven by the soaring cost of food and drink and transportation. Food prices have almost doubled in a year, while the cost of transport was up 123%, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute.

It is another grim milestone for a country that has suffered rampant inflation in recent months, and whose currency has lost more than 20% of its value against the US dollar since the start of this year.

Turkey's economy is exposed to the same forces of global inflation as other countries, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's unorthodox economic policies have inflamed the crisis, as has the crashing lira, which makes imports much more expensive.

In September, Erdogan ditched the rule book and told Turkey's central bank to start cutting interest rates as prices were rising, rather than raise them.

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Cost of war: The 13 most expensive campaigns in U.S. history

John Harrington and Grant Suneson

24/7 Wall Street

With the recent commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, we are reminded once again of the human cost of freedom and liberty. While some attempt to rank wars by the number of casualties, others would consider the social, environmental and political upheaval that comes with sustained conflict. And, of course, there is always the financial cost.

Many factors can affect the cost of waging war. To determine the most expensive wars in U.S. history, 24/7 Wall St. used a 2010 report from the Congressional Research Service titled “Costs of Major U.S. Wars.”

13. War of 1812

• U.S. war spending (2019 dollars): $1.78 billion

• Duration: 2 years, 8 months

• U.S. military deaths: 15,000

The newly created American nation was in dispute with the British Empire in the early 19th century. The United States claimed the British were trying to limit trade and were forcing U.S. sailors to serve in the Royal Navy, grievances related to Britain’s war with France. The United States also had ambitions to expand into British-controlled Canada. The U.S. was rebuffed in its invasion of Canada and suffered other defeats, including the capture and burning of Washington, D.C. Even so, the United States withstood a British naval bombardment at military installations in Baltimore and defeated the British in New Orleans. The Treaty of Ghent ended the nearly three-year-long war, with the United States retaining its sovereignty, but America was prevented from expanding northward into Canada. The war was the first of five declared wars by the United States. The War of 1812 cost the nation $1.78 billion. About 15,000 Americans died in the war from battlefield wounds and disease.

12. Mexican-American War

• U.S. war spending (2019 dollars): $2.72 billion

• Duration: 1 year, 9 months

• U.S. military deaths: 13,283

Fought between 1846 and the start of 1848, the Mexican-American War cost the United States $2.72 billion, the 11th-most expensive war in U.S. history. The bone of contention was Texas, which had gained independence from Mexico a decade earlier. Texas had not yet been incorporated into the United States because its inclusion would have upset the equilibrium between slave and free states established by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Skirmishes along the Rio Grande led to clashes such as the Battle of Palo Alto that resulted in American victories. The war ended on Feb. 2, 1848, with the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. The accord established the Rio Grande as the southern border of Texas and the U.S. gained land in present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.

11. American Revolution

• U.S. war spending (2019 dollars): $2.75 billion

• Duration: 8 years, 5 months

• U.S. military deaths: 4,435

The eight-year quest for independence cost the American colonies just over $2.75 billion and about 4,400 lives. While the war began as a revolt against unjust taxation, it ended with the colonies and their allies defeating the British Empire and the Founding Fathers rejecting the social and political structures of Europe in favor of a republic. The Treaty of Paris ended the war in 1783, officially recognizing the United States as an independent country and establishing its borders.

10. Spanish-American War

• U.S. war spending (2019 dollars): $10.33 billion

• Duration: 4 months

• U.S. military deaths: 2,446

Often considered the first media war, sensationalized journalism helped fuel support for America's involvement in the Cuban quest for independence from Spain. When the USS Maine, which had been sent to Havana to protect American interests, unexpectedly blew up in 1898, cries for American intervention increased. Congress officially declared war under the context of the Monroe Doctrine, which forbade European interference in the Western Hemisphere. U.S. forces crushed Spanish forces worldwide. The war cost $10.33 billion, and the U.S. gained the Pacific island of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. As a result of the war, America emerged as a global power.

9. American Civil War (Confederacy)

• U.S. war spending (2019 dollars): $22.99 billion

• Duration: 4 years

• U.S. military deaths: 750,000 (North and South)

The Civil War claimed 750,000 American lives, North and South, more than any other U.S. conflict. The war was fought primarily over the issues of slavery and states’ rights, and it took place primarily in the South. The conflict began after South Carolina seceded from the Union in 1861. The war laid waste to most of the South and left the region devastated for years. In addition to famous battles like Antietam, Bull Run, and Gettysburg, there was guerrilla warfare in border states and areas of conflict that involved the civilian population. The Civil War ended the plantation system and the institution of slavery in the South. It cost Confederate states $22.99 billion in their failed attempt to secede from the Union.

8. American Civil War (Union)

• U.S. war spending (2019 dollars): $68.17 billion

• Duration: 4 years

• U.S. military deaths: 750,000 (North and South)

For decades, the long-accepted death toll of the Civil War had been about 620,000. But a study published in 2011 by historian J. David Hacker raised that total to 750,000 lives, the highest by far of any U.S. conflict. The war, which began in 1861, was fought over the issues of slavery and states’ rights. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, four years later. By that time, the war to keep the United States united and abolish slavery had cost the Union $68.17 billion.

7. Persian Gulf War

• U.S. war spending (2019 dollars): $116.6 billion

• Duration: 7 months

• U.S. military deaths: 383

The Persian Gulf War, one of the shortest conflicts in U.S. history, cost $116.6 billion, or just 0.3% of U.S. GDP in 1991. Tensions mounted in the Middle East when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990. Despite calls from the United Nations for Iraq to withdraw, Hussein refused. A few months later, a massive U.S.-led coalition that included NATO allies and Middle East nations such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia initiated Operation Desert Storm. The offensive lasted just 42 days and ended in catastrophe for Iraq in February 1991. Hussein agreed to recognize Kuwait’s sovereignty and destroy his stores of weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. However, Hussein remained in power. As the first major conflict after the Cold War, the Persian Gulf War was, at the time, heralded as a success for the international coalition.

6. World War I

• U.S. war spending (2019 dollars): $381.8 billion

• Duration: 1 year, 7 months

• U.S. military deaths: 116,516

War broke out in Europe in 1914, but the United States remained neutral for the next three years. American financial institutions prospered by lending money to the combatants, mostly France and Great Britain. However, the United States was gradually pulled into the conflict mostly because of Germany’s use of unrestricted submarine warfare against all ships bound for the nations it was fighting. When British intelligence revealed a communication from German diplomats to Mexican envoys that proposed an alliance between the two countries if the United States entered the war against Germany, America was compelled to act. The United States declared war on Germany on April 2, 1917. World War I ended 19 months later, costing the lives of more than 116,000 troops. Ultimately, the conflict cost the United States $381.8 billion.

5. Korean War

• U.S. war spending (2019 dollars): $389.81 billion

• Duration: 3 years, 1 month

• U.S. military deaths: 36,574

In June 1950, the North Korean military, supported by the Soviet Union, crossed the 38th parallel that divided North and South Korea. That began the Korean War. Fearful of the spread of communism, President Harry Truman garnered support from the United Nations Security Council to expel North Korean troops from the South. General Douglas MacArthur, however, pursued the North Koreans to the Yalu River, which formed the northern border between China and the Korean peninsula. The Chinese interpreted MacArthur’s actions as an act of war and entered the conflict, driving U.N. troops down the peninsula. The war eventually ended after Dwight Eisenhower became president and threatened the use of nuclear weapons if the North Koreans or Chinese did not respect the 38th parallel as the boundary between the two countries. Ultimately, the Korean War cost the United States $389.81 billion and about 36,000 lives.

4. Vietnam War

• U.S. war spending (2019 dollars): $843.63 billion

• Duration: 17 years, 9 months

• U.S. military deaths: 58,220

The war in Vietnam cost the United States $843.63 billion in 2019 dollars, or 2.3% of GDP in 1968. By the end of the conflict, the names of more than 58,000 dead soldiers were recorded on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. After the Vietnamese defeated the French in 1954, ending a brutal era of colonialism, the Geneva Accords stipulated that elections in the South be scheduled for the following year. Determined not to let communism spread, the U.S. lent its support to Ngo Dinh Diem, a French-educated, Catholic politician in South Vietnam. By the time the U.S. committed troops in 1965, Diem had been assassinated and Vietnamese support for the new military-led South Vietnamese government had faded. With supplies from China and the Soviet Union, North Vietnam primarily used guerrilla tactics to attack U.S. troops and bases. By the late 1960s, public support for the war in the U.S. was waning. American troops withdrew in 1973 and South Vietnam fell to communist North Vietnam in 1975.

3. War in Afghanistan

• U.S. war spending (2019 dollars): $910.47 billion

• Duration: Since 2001

• U.S. military deaths: 2,285

The United States has been embroiled in an ongoing battle in Afghanistan since 2001. Following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the United States invaded the central Asian nation in order to drive out the ruling Taliban, which provided al-Qaeda, the terrorist group responsible for the 9/11 terror attack, with safe haven. Yet in the over 17 years since the war began, the U.S. military has so far been unable to establish Afghanistan as a stable, safe place. The War in Afghanistan is now the only war in U.S. military history to have three commanders in chief preside over the conflict. From President George W. Bush to Barack Obama and now Donald Trump, none could find a way to bring the extended conflict to an end. As the war drags on, military spending on this war will continue to accumulate.

2. Iraq War

• U.S. war spending (2019 dollars): $1.01 trillion

• Duration: 7 years, 5 months

• U.S. military deaths: 4,410

The conflict in Iraq has cost the United States about $1 trillion. Believing he had weapons of mass destruction, U.S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003 and overthrew Saddam Hussein. The U.S. government considers elections in Iraq, as well as training military personnel to help stabilize the region, as successes. Even so, the country continues to be marred by conflict and terror.

1. World War II

• U.S. war spending (2019 dollars): $4.69 trillion

• Duration: 3 years, 9 months

• U.S. military deaths: 405,399

The United States spent more than $4 trillion, or 36% of its GDP, fighting World War II. More than 400,000 U.S. troops were killed in the conflict to defeat Nazi Germany, Italy, and the Japanese Empire. U.S. involvement officially began on Dec. 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. America officially declared war against Germany and Italy three days later, after Germany and Italy had declared war on the United States. After conquering most of Europe, Germany attacked the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union bore most of the ground conflict with Germany before the United States and its allies opened the Western front in 1944. The European war ended in May 1945, and Japan surrendered after the United States dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of that year. The United States and the Soviet Union emerged from World War II as the world’s biggest superpowers and became rivals in the Cold War.

Detailed findings & methodology

World War II remains as the costliest conflict in American history, accounting for nearly 36% of the country’s gross domestic product in 1945, or $4.7 trillion based on inflation-adjusted constant dollars. More recently, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan rank as the second- and third- most expensive conflicts in American history, respectively. The war in Afghanistan is the longest in U.S. history, nearly 18 years and counting, though it is not among the longest wars in history.

Many early wars in U.S. history resulted in the United States gaining more land and territories. The Mexican-American War in the 1840s yielded much of the territory that makes up the present-day Southwest. Similarly, the Spanish-American War at the end of the 19th century ended with the United States controlling the Pacific island of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. The results of these wars and others led to the United States establishing large military bases around the world.

In every conflict before World War II, nearly all of the country’s defense budget was spent on direct conflict – classified as wartime spending. For example, the United States spent 1.1% of its GDP in 1899 to fight the Spanish-American War, nearly its entire defense budget of 1.5% of GDP.

That trend largely changed at the start of the Cold War. Because of the persistent threat of military conflict, the United States had to be ready for war at any time. This led to the space race and nuclear armament becoming national priorities. As a result, wartime spending and defense spending began to diverge. During the Korean War, for example, war spending accounted for 4.2% of GDP in 1952, while total defense spending accounted for more than 13% of GDP. At $649 billion in 2018, America spent the most on war of any country.

Comparing the costs of war over a period of almost 250 years can be difficult. While the report attempts to correct for inflation by calculating each war’s cost in fiscal year 2018 dollars, inflation adjustments do not account for advances in technology. It is entirely possible that wars also became more expensive over time as the sophistication and use of technology increased. A byproduct of the production of war materials was the creation of commercial products invented by the military.

Spending on the war in Afghanistan has been updated through 2017. Because exact spending figures for each year following 2014 were not available but the total spending until 2017 was, we assumed equal spending on the war in the years 2015, 2016, and 2017, and adjusted each figure according to that year’s Defense Spending deflator that is pegged to 2019 dollars. Inflation price indexes used in this adjustment are from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The CRS report does not include veterans’ benefits, interest on loans used to finance the war, and assistance to allies.

24/7 Wall Street is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

The highest paid world leaders: President Trump makes the list

Mike Monteiro

24/7 Wall Street

We know it pays to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company – does it also pay to be president of a country? Ask the men and women who are among the top paid world leaders.

Earning from just over $200,000 to more than $1.6 million, the yearly earnings of these heads of states far exceed the pay of the average citizen in their countries. Generally, these countries tend to be among the wealthiest and most productive countries in the world. Although among the countries on this list, the leaders' annual salaries are well above the country’s GDP per capita or average wages.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed publicly available annual compensation figures to identify 20 of the highest-paid leaders in the world. We gathered information from country websites, as well as data from organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the CIA World Factbook.

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Salaries are expressed in U.S. dollars that were converted from country of origin currencies as of April 13, 2018. Leaders of absolute monarchies such as Qatar, Brunei Darussalam, and Saudi Arabia were excluded from our list due to a lack of consistent available data.

Constitutional monarchies were included, except where the highest ranking officials have the power to appoint the government. In such cases, including Kuwait, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates, state leadership compensation often is not publicly disclosed.

20. Édouard Philippe

• Title: Prime Minister of France

• Annual salary (in USD): $220,505.00

• Time in office: 1 year, 10 months

• GDP per capita: $40,145.94

In France, President Emmanuel Macron, the head of state, holds more power than the head of government, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe. Despite this, Philippe earns just as much as the French president. Both leaders make more than five times as much as France's GDP per capita.

19. Jimmy Morales

• Title: President of the Republic of Guatemala

• Annual salary (in USD): $227,099

• Time in office: 3 years, 2 months

• GDP per capita: $7,421.29

Prior to becoming the president of Guatemala, Jimmy Morales was a household name in Guatemala on the Guatemalan TV series "Moralejas" ("Morals"), where he starred alongside his brother. These days, Morales earns more than 30 times the economic output of a typical Guatemalan citizen.

18. Leo Varadkar

• Title: Taoiseach

• Annual salary (in USD): $234,447

• Time in office: 1 year, 9 months

• GDP per capita: $66,548.10

Leo Varadkar is the Taoiseach of Ireland. Taoiseach is an Irish word of Ancient origin meaning "leader" and is used in the Irish Constitution for "the head of the Government or Prime Minister. As Taoiseach, Varadkar earns more than four and a half times the average wage of Irish citizens.

17. Katrín Jakobsdóttir

• Title: Prime Minister of Iceland

• Annual salary (in USD): $242,619

• Time in office: 1 year, 4 months

• GDP per capita: $49,704.76

If Katrín Jakobsdóttir's salary as the prime minister of Iceland were to be shared across the nation, each Icelandic citizen would receive the equivalent of 73 cents. While the president has a higher base pay than the prime minister in Iceland, the president has limited powers and the role is largely ceremonial as a diplomat and figurehead.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Jakobsdóttir is the highest ranking official within Iceland's government. Prior to joining the Icelandic government, she had a career in both Icelandic media and academia, where she lectured at various universities in Reykjavík.

16. Stefan Löfven

• Title: Prime Minister of Sweden

• Annual salary (in USD): $244,615

• Time in office: 4 years, 6 months

• GDP per capita: $46,519.75

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven began his career as a welder, but he quickly ascended into politics when he became his group's trade union representative two years into his career. Decades later, in 2005, he became the chairman of the major trade union IF Metall. It was not long before he became the leader of the largest political party in Sweden – Swedish Social Democratic Party – and subsequently elected prime minister.

15. Lars Løkke Rasmussen

• Title: Prime Minister of Denmark

• Annual salary (in USD): $249,774

• Time in office: 3 years, 9 months

• GDP per capita: $46,329.81

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark has an annual salary of the equivalent of nearly $13.5 million. She is not, however, an elected official – Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen is. Rasmussen makes a comparatively modest $249,774 a year.

14. Adrian Hasler

• Title: Prime Minister of the Principality of Liechtenstein

• Annual salary (in USD): $254,660

• Time in office: 6 years

• GDP per capita: N/A

With an annual pay of $254,660, Prime Minister Adrian Hasler is a former banker who worked for VP Bank AG, where the salary of the average employee is $128,648. Hasler was a division head there.

13. Charles Michel

• Title: Prime Minister of Belgium

• Annual salary (in USD): $262,964

• Time in office: 4 years, 5 months

• GDP per capita: $42,497.40

Prime Minister Charles Michel earns more than five times the average wage of a Belgian citizens. Belgium levies one of the highest income taxes for individuals in the world.

12. Justin Trudeau

• Title: Prime Minister of Canada

• Annual salary (in USD): $267,041

• Time in office: 3 years, 5 months

• GDP per capita: $44,134.80

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau earns the equivalent of nearly $270,000 U.S. dollars per year. In Canada, the prime minister's compensation includes the Member of the House of Commons Basic Sessional Indemnity, the prime minister salary, and the prime minister car allowance.

11. Cyril Ramaphosa

• Title: President of the Republic of South Africa

• Annual salary (in USD): $273,470.00

• Time in office: 1 year, 1 month

• GDP per capita: $12,317.97

The average household income in South Africa is $10,872 a year, nearly a third of the average across OECD nations. The President of South Africa, Cryil Ramaphosa, earns more than 25 times the average wage in South Africa. South Africa has been struggling with stagnant GDP growth, high unemployment, and social unrest. As a result, Ramaphosa's administration declared salary cuts for Members of Parliament and the executive branch. The National Treasury, however, has shown in its 2019 budget statements that Ramaphosa actually received a salary increase for the current fiscal year.

10. Xavier Bettel

• Title: Prime Minister of Luxembourg

• Annual salary (in USD): $278,035

• Time in office: 5 years, 4 months

• GDP per capita: $93,891.49

Luxembourg is the smallest nation among the top 10 countries that pay their leaders the most, and if Prime Minister Xavier Bettel's base pay were to be distributed to Luxembourg's 596,992 citizens, each would receive 48 cents. While Bettel's salary is one of the highest in the world, the citizens of Luxembourg trail no other nation on this list in terms of individual wealth.

9. Sebastian Kurz

• Title: Chancellor of Austria

• Annual salary (in USD): $328,584

• Time in office: 1 year, 3 months

• GDP per capita: $45,478.96

Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz is much younger than his peers on the global stage, the youngest head of state in the world. When Kurz first entered political leadership at age 22 as chairman of the JVP political party in Vienna, it is unlikely he imagined he would be earning more than six times the average wage of Austrian citizens when becoming appointed as Chancellor only nine years later.

8. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz

• Title: President of Mauritania

• Annual salary (in USD): $330,000

• Time in office: 9 years, 8 months

• GDP per capita: $3,655.37

Mauritania is a critical port and rail system within China's Belt and Road Initiative, which is creating major economic and defense ties between China and Africa. Relations between Mauritania and China's leadership are stronger than ever, but the differences between the two nations is stark. China's GDP is 2,400 times Mauritania's GDP, yet President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz earns almost as much per month as Chinese President Xi Jinping earns per year, according to Saraya, a Jordanian online newspaper.

7. Jacinda Ardern

• Title: Prime Minister of New Zealand

• Annual salary (in USD): $339,862

• Time in office: 1 year, 5 months

• GDP per capita: $35,244.99

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is paid more than 20 times the economic output of the average kiwi citizen. Presiding over a land known for having more sheep than people, Ardern's salary would only provide each citizen with 7 cents if her annual base pay were to be shared across the country.

6. Angela Merkel

• Title: Chancellor of Germany

• Annual salary (in USD): $369,727

• Time in office: 13 years, 4 months

• GDP per capita: $46,719.29

German Chancellor Angela Merkel earns almost eight times the average wage of German citizens. Merkel's base pay of $369,727 eclipses the average german worker's income of $46,389. Merkel has served in the role since 2005, earning millions of dollars during her tenure.

5. Scott Morrison

• Title: Prime Minister of Australia

• Annual salary (in USD): $378,415

• Time in office: 7 months

• GDP per capita: $46,554.63

Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison earns more than seven times the average wage of Australian citizens. Unlike some of his predecessors, Morrison has had a career in public service, where his first job out of university was working as a national policy and research manager for the Property Council of Australia, where he worked for nearly a decade. Australia has no maximum term limits for a prime minister, and if Morrison matched the nearly 12 year held by John Howard in the late '90s and early aughts, he would amass a fortune of over $4 million.

4. Donald Trump

• Title: President of the United States

• Annual salary (in USD): $400,000

• Time in office: 2 years, 2 months

• GDP per capita: $54,440.90

U.S. President Donald Trump's salary of $400,000 a year is about seven times the average U.S. per capita GDP. Trump, however, did not actually take home any of this money as he made good on a promise to donate his entire salary.

3. Ueli Maurer

• Title: President of the Swiss Confederation

• Annual salary (in USD): $482,958

• Time in office: 3 months

• GDP per capita: $56,473.64

President Ueli Maurer of Switzerland earns $482,958 per annum – more than any other head of government in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The OECD is an intergovernmental economic organisation of the 36 highest income economies that are also dedicated to setting transparency standards for governments of global democracies. As part of the OECD standards, Maurer's salary will always be public knowledge.

2. Carrie Lam

• Title: Chief Executive of Hong Kong

• Annual salary (in USD): $568,400

• Time in office: 1 year, 9 months

• GDP per capita: $57,081.14

Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam is known for being at the top of one of the best paid bureaucratic systems in the world. Hong Kong recently raised the salaries of all heads of governments by 12.4% based on the cumulative change in the consumer price index, an economic indicator that measures inflation.

1. Lee Hsien Loong

• Title: Prime Minister of Singapore

• Annual salary (in USD): $1,610,000

• Time in office: 14 years, 7 months

• GDP per capita: $86,810.78

The head of government in Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, earns more than 20 times the country's GDP per capita. Could a prime minister's high salary actually be a perk for citizens? The people of Singapore know one thing for sure: no one can buy off their leadership. According to "Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)," first released in 1995, which tracks nations' corruption trends, Singapore is potentially the least corrupt nation in the world. Comparatively, at $1.6 million, Lee earns 12 times as much as Russia President Vladimir Putin. An additional partial explanation for the high salary could be cost of living: Singapore is the most expensive city to live in the world.

Methodology

24/7 Wall St. reviewed publicly available annual compensation figures for the 20 highest-paid leaders in the world. Salaries are expressed in U.S. dollars that were converted from country of origin currencies as of April 13, 2018. Leaders of absolute monarchies such as Qatar, Brunei Darussalam, and Saudi Arabia were excluded from our list. Constitutional monarchies were included, except where the highest ranking officials have the power to appoint the government. In such cases, including Kuwait, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates, state leadership compensation often is not publicly disclosed.

The head of state is by definition the highest ranking official in a sovereign nation. However, in cases where the head of government is paid a higher salary, she or he was listed instead. The identities and dates of election or appointment of these leaders were obtained from the CIA World Factbook, national government websites, and media sources.

24/7 Wall Street is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

Stock market collapse: How does today's compare to others?

Michael B. Sauter, Samuel Stebbins

24/7 Wall Street

In mid-February 2020, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached nearly 30,000 points, the highest level in its more than 100-year history. And then, the severity and scale of the COVID-19 pandemic came into sharper focus.

Within a week of hitting an all-time high, the DJIA began to tank. So far, the index has lost over 35% of its value, wiping out years of growth in only about a month’s time.

So far, over a quarter million cases of coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide, resulting in over 10,000 deaths. In the United States, there were more than 19,600 total cases and at least 260 deaths as of March 21 — with health experts projecting a sharp rise in cases in the coming days and weeks. To halt the virus’s spread, non-essential businesses and services have been shut down across the country, and government officials have been urging Americans to stay home, effectively halting economic activity.

The current sell-off on Wall Street is the worst many Americans have seen — or will see — in their lifetimes. Still, it is hardly the first time investors have scrambled to pull their money out of the stock market. For context on how the current market collapse compares with others throughout history, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the largest declines in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Some of the sell-offs that rank on this list spanned just a few days. In other cases, they lasted for weeks and even months.

It is important to note that market conditions are not static, and the prevailing opinion of government officials and health experts is that the effects of the coronavirus will worsen before they improve. Though lawmakers are scrambling to put together a comprehensive economic stimulus package, markets remain volatile, and the full economic impact of the pandemic remains to be seen.

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1. Panic of 1901

• DJIA decline: -10.8% from 5/6/1901 to 5/9/1901

• Largest single-day decline: -6.1% (5/9/1901)

The first major panic after the Dow Jones Industrial Average was introduced in the stock market in 1896 occurred just half a decade later, in May 1901. The panic came after several major American businessmen, including famous banker J.P. Morgan, sought to gain ownership of the Northern Pacific Railway. They began purchasing millions in shares of the company, driving the company’s stock price above $1,000 and sending the rest of the market into a panic. On May 9, the worst day of the panic, share prices of a number of companies fell between 10% to 25%. On that day, shares of U.S. Steel, at the time one of the largest companies in America, plummeted by 45%.

The selloff was relatively short-lived, and stocks rebounded on May 10th, with the Dow Jones increasing by 6.4% in value.

2. Panic of 1907

• DJIA decline: -45% from 1/07/1907 to 11/15/1907

• Largest single-day decline: -8.3% (3/14/1907)

Though it was preceded by the Panic of 1901, the Panic of 1907 is recognized as the first global financial crisis of the 20th century. Before the Panic actually began, the stock market began selling off during the first half of 1907, including a staggering 8.3% decline on March 14, which at the time was the second largest single-day decline in the history of the index.

A broader panic began on Oct. 15, when both the Knickerbocker Trust and the Westinghouse Electric Company failed. The failure lead to a chain reaction of stock panic due to limited liquidity and waning confidence in banks. The federal government and private financiers, including J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller, helped stabilize the markets through bailouts and other means, but not before the DJIA lost 15% of its value in a month. The event gave way to monetary reforms that eventually led to the formation of the U.S. Federal Reserve System.

3. Wall Street Crash of 1929

• DJIA decline: -46.6% from 9/16/1929 to 11/13/1929

• Largest single-day decline: -12.8% (10/28/1929)

The Wall Street Crash of 1929 was the worst event in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. On October 29th that year, on what is now known as Black Tuesday, investors lost billions of dollars on the New York Stock Exchange, as the Dow Jones fell by roughly 12% for the second day in a row, accelerating the economic collapse that would give way to the Great Depression. Over the period of about two months starting in mid-September, the Dow shed a staggering 46.6% of its value.

The historic crash was precipitated by wild speculation and reckless investing throughout the 1920s. When unemployment began to climb and production fell at the end of the decade, stocks were trading at prices well in excess of their true value.

4. Recession of 1937-38

• DJIA decline: -42.6% from 9/4/1937 to 3/31/1938

• Largest single-day decline: -5.9% (11/19/1937)

On Sept. 4, 1937, the Dow closed at 172.55. The following day, the index fell nearly 5%, in the first of many major dips over the coming months. On March 31, the DJIA closed below 100 points for the first time in years, capping off the worst of the decline when the Dow lost more than 20% of its value in a two week period.

That decline of approximately 43% over 200 days came during the Recession of 1937-38, a period in which real GDP fell 10% and U.S. unemployment reached 20%. The recession, which officially lasted from May 1937 through June 1938, came as the United States was in the midst of a recovery from the Great Depression and the beginning of World War II.

5. Germany invades France

• DJIA decline: -24.5% from 5/10/1940 to 6/10/1940

• Largest single-day decline: -6.8% (5/14/1940)

Though World War II had started in 1939 with Germany’s invasion of Poland, U.S. stocks did not react much until the German army invaded France in 1940. In a matter of weeks, Hitler forced one of Europe’s great military powers into submission, and U.S. stocks cratered. The fall of France began in early May, and over the month that followed, the DJIA fell by 24.5%. The largest single-day drop occurred early on May 14, with the index falling by nearly 7% in a single day.

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6. End of World War II

• DJIA decline: -23.2% from 5/29/1946 to 10/9/1946

• Largest single-day decline: -5.6% (9/3/1946)

Though the end of WWII marked the beginning of an era of historic prosperity in the United States, at the time, the end of the war marked an era of economic uncertainty and anxiety. Many investors assumed that the end of wartime spending would lead to an economic downturn. The sell-off started as the war began to wind down and continued for a while after its end. Between late May and early October 1946, the Dow Jones shed 23.2% of its value.

7. Kennedy Slide of 1962

• DJIA decline: -26.8% from 12/28/1961 to 6/26/1962

• Largest single-day decline: -5.7% (5/28/1962)

The Kennedy Slide of 1962 occurred in the first months of 1962. On Dec. 28, 1961, the Dow closed at 731.51. It closed at 535.76 about six months later, on June 26. The sell-off came after a long period of growth, and some have explained it as a correction of inflated stock values. The biggest single-day decline during the slide occurred on May 28, when the Dow lost 5.7% of its value.

8. Tech Stock Crash of 1970

• DJIA decline: -18.7% from 4/20/1970 to 5/26/1970

• Largest single-day decline: -3.1% (5/25/1970)

During the second quarter of 1970, the U.S. stock market fell sharply, led by tech stocks like Ross Perot’s Electronic Data Systems, which lost 85% of its value, as well as companies like supercomputer and mainframe maker Control Data and data entry system maker Mohawk Data, which fell in value by more than 80%.

The start of the crash was catalyzed by computer manufacturer IBM’s legal battle with the Justice Department about its strategy of bundling its software with hardware, as well as its apparent inability to produce enough of its new System 370 computers to match demand. Analysts have attributed the decline to an overconfidence in the plausibility that compound growth rates could continue at a high rate for an unsustainable amount of time as well as low to no earnings of many tech stocks.

9. 1973-74 Stock Market Crash

• DJIA decline: -45.1% from 1/11/1973 to 12/6/1974

• Largest single-day decline: -3.5% (11/18/1974)

Due in part to a series of economic policies implemented by the Nixon administration, inflation began climbing out of control in early 1973. The unforeseen decline in purchasing power led President Richard Nixon to order a wage and price freeze. With the Watergate scandal gaining momentum around the same time, the Dow lost over 20% of its value in the first eight months of 1973. The market fell further that October in the wake of an OPEC oil embargo to the United States. Inflation, long lines at the pump, and Nixon’s resignation wreaked havoc on Wall Street for much of the following year.

10. Black Monday

• DJIA decline: -22.6% on 10/19/1987

• Largest single-day decline: -22.6% (10/19/1987)

On Oct. 19, 1987 — a date known as Black Monday — the DJIA lost over one-fifth of its total value, the largest single-day decline in trading history up to that point. The record point plunge was not broken until the recent pandemic-driven sell-offs, although terms of a percentage decline, Black Monday still holds the record.

Unlike most other massive single-day sell-offs, Black Monday was not triggered by a major news event. Rather, several factors lead to anxiety and panic among investors. These included the growing U.S. trade deficit, the growing use of computerized trading, and a simmering conflict between Iran and Kuwait that threatened U.S. oil supplies — all factors that were hyped by the media.

11. Invasion of Kuwait

• DJIA decline: -18.4% from 8/2/1990 to 10/11/1990

• Largest single-day decline: -3.3% (8/6/1990)

While most of the 1990s can be characterized by a dramatic rise in stock prices, a recession at the beginning of the decade caused temporary panic and drove the markets down. The Federal Reserve continued to worry that the government deficits that helped contribute to Black Monday just a few years prior would persist, and so it sought to preempt those issues by maintaining a highly restrictive monetary policy.

When Sadaam Hussein’s Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990, oil prices jumped sharply, resulting in a nearly 20% decline in the Dow Jones over two months. The decline came during a broader economic recession, which lasted from July 1990 through March 1991.

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12. Long-Term Capital Management Fails

• DJIA decline: -19.2% from 7/19/1998 to 8/31/1998

• Largest single-day decline: -6.4% (8/31/1998)

Long-Term Capital Management, or LTCM, was a Connecticut based hedge fund that managed over $100 billion at its height. Managed by Nobel Prize winning economists and Wall Street veterans, the fund, founded in 1994, was initially highly successful — but it nearly destroyed the global financial system when it failed after just four years.

The firm’s strategy of arbitrage trading in securities prices proved flawed when Russia defaulted on its debt in the summer of 1998. When LTCM losses were mounting to billions of dollars, sell-offs followed. In a single day that summer, the Dow lost 6.4% of its value. Ultimately, a global financial crisis was averted by a government bailout that allowed LTCM to survive long enough to liquidate.

13. Dot-com Bubble

• DJIA decline: -31.4% from 5/19/2002 to 10/9/2002

• Largest single-day decline: -4.6% (7/19/2002)

The turn of the 21st century saw rapid growth in the U.S. tech sector, fueled by massive capital investment in tech companies capitalizing on the seemingly limitless growth opportunities in the world wide web. However, it would eventually become clear to investors that many of these companies were highly overvalued, and between the close on March 19 and the close on Oct. 9, 2002, the Dow Jones recorded a decline of over 30%.

The tech-heavy NASDAQ index dropped even more, with the overall index losing over three-quarters of its total value, with major companies like Cisco, Oracle, and Intel each losing more than 80% of their value. Meanwhile, dozens of large internet-based tech companies went bankrupt.

14. Lehman Brothers Collapse and the Great Financial Crisis

• DJIA decline: -53.7% from 10/9/2007 to 3/9/2009

• Largest single-day decline: -4.6% (10/15/2008)

Years of risky policies on Wall Street ultimately led to the subprime mortgage crisis and set off a series of events that would culminate in the Great Financial Crisis. Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest investment bank in the world at the time, was the largest bank to fold as a result. The Dow fell precipitously, with only a few minor periods of gain, from over 14,000 points in Oct. 2007 to barely 6,500 Feb. 2009. Over nearly that entire period, the U.S. slid into a recession, as did most nations worldwide.

In a considerable effort to avert global catastrophe — in a combined effort of government bailouts and expansionary monetary policy — the global recession and stock markets began to recover. It took until October 2013 for the Dow to regain the value it had lost.

15. US Debt Downgrade

• DJIA decline: -11.7% from 8/1/2011 to 8/10/2011

• Largest single-day decline: -5.5% (8/8/2011)

In the first eight months of 2011, a brewing crisis over the U.S. debt ceiling came to a head, and there were fears that a continued impasse would cause the government to run out of money. In late June, 2011, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s managing director John Chambers told Reuters that if the United States failed to make a scheduled debt payment on Aug. 4, it would cut the country’s long-touted perfect AAA credit rating down to a D.

On Aug. 2, President Barack Obama signed a compromise plan into law, avoiding a national default, but the agency downgraded the U.S. rating anyway a few days later, to AA+. The stock market responded, with the Dow plunging by more than 11% over roughly a week, including a 5.5% drop on Aug. 8.

16. Chinese Stock Market Turbulence

• DJIA decline: -13.6% from 6/24/2015 to 8/25/2015

• Largest single-day decline: -3.6% (8/24/2015)

After posting extraordinary gains of around 150% between June 2014 and June 2015, China’s Shanghai Composite index plummeted, losing nearly one-third of its value in less than a month. There were numerous factors at play in the Chinese economy that caused the boom-bust cycle, and the effects were felt throughout global markets as commodities prices fell, and Wall Street was not spared. The Dow dropped from about 18,100 points in June 2015 to about 15,600 by September. The effects did not last, however, as the index regained its losses by October.

17. COVID-19 Outbreak

• DJIA decline: -35% from 2/12/2020 to 3/20/2020

• Largest single-day decline: -12.9% (3/16/2020)

When the first cases of a disease caused by a novel coronavirus appeared in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, officials speculated that it was an unknown form of pneumonia. In mid-January, there were over 100 new cases of the illness in China, and the first case was identified in the United States.

In the weeks and months since, the virus has spread across the globe, and the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Confirmed cases today total a quarter million and over 10,000 people have died. To combat the spread of the virus, countries have taken extraordinary measures, including closing the borders and implementing lockdowns of entire populations. This has, in effect, led to life grinding to a halt throughout the world.

U.S. investors have remained largely unconcerned at the beginning of the outbreak, with the Dow reaching an all-time high of nearly 30,000 in mid-February. However, as the disease spread across Europe and began to affect the U.S., the outbreak’s devastating economic impact became increasingly clear.

Despite economic stimulus packages of unprecedented size and scope moving rapidly through Congress and in other countries worldwide, between Feb. 19 and March 19, the Dow shed over 9,000 points, losing over 35% of its value. As many businesses remain closed and Americans are urged to stay in their homes to contain the spread of the virus, the full breadth and depth of the economic toll of the pandemic remains to be seen.

Seven countries near bankruptcy

Thomas C. Frohlich, Alexander Kent and Sam Stebbins

24/7 Wall St.

Puerto Rico defaulted on its $58 million debt repayment this week for the first time in its history. With its failure to repay creditors, the commonwealth joins the ranks of countries and governments burdened by crippling debt levels and extremely low credit ratings.

Moody's Investors' Service rates seven countries Caa1 or worse, several tiers lower than Ba1, which still carries a significant credit risk. These countries are approaching or have narrowly escaped bankruptcy. Ukraine is rated Ca, which is currently the lowest credit rating of any country reviewed by Moody's.

All seven national economies instill relatively little confidence among investors. However, Jamaica's credit rating was upgraded by Moody's this year, and Argentina's and Belize's credit ratings remained stable. The remaining four countries, on the other hand, were downgraded.

A country's history of fiscal responsibility, including past defaults, and current compliance with IMF debt repayment plans, are major contributors to Moody's evaluations.

Extremely high debt levels, which while not always a feature of unhealthy economies, can also contribute to a country's poor credit rating. The debt of four of the seven countries was equal to more than 75% of GDP. In Jamaica and Greece, debt was well over 100% of GDP.

Political conflicts have also weakened some of these economies, which in turn has introduced more uncertainty and increased risk. Ukraine's conflict with Russia over its annexation of Crimea, for example, and the resulting U.S. and European sanctions, have contributed to the country's downgrade in March.

Borrowing funds in the international bond market is often far more costly for countries with poor credit ratings. Investors require greater returns on what they perceive to be riskier investments and charge higher interest rates as a result. For example, a 10-year U.S. Treasury Note has an annual yield of just 2.16%. By contrast, a comparable bond recently issued by Jamaica pays out 6.44% a year. Yields on 10-year Greek government bonds reached 29% in early 2012, just before the country defaulted.

Foreign investment is vital for most countries, particularly developing nations. To promote interest among investors, countries use a range of strategies. Often, these countries issue bonds in other, safer currencies in order to be more competitive in the international bond markets. Nations such as Argentina, Jamaica, Belize, and Ukraine have all issued bonds in other nations' currencies. Inflation rates for common currencies such as the dollar, yen, and euro are typically far lower and more stable than the currencies of the issuing countries. This means that investors do not need to worry as much about their investment losing value.

Based on credit ratings provided by Moody's Investors Service, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the seven countries with credit ratings of Caa1 or worse. A rating of this level indicates considerable credit risk. Because many of these nations have significant debt in other currencies or have otherwise weak currencies, we used foreign currency ratings and outlooks for these nations. Figures on GDP growth, inflation, unemployment, population and debt levels are estimates for 2014 from the IMF's World Economic Outlook.

These are the 7 countries at risk of default.

7. Belarus

> Moody's credit rating: Caa1

> Moody's outlook: Negative

> 2015 Gov't debt (pct. of GDP): 39.6%

> 2015 GDP per capita (PPP): $17,836

Considered by many to be the last dictator in Europe, President Alexander Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994. Part of Lukashenko's reputation likely stems from his refusal to privatise state enterprises, which has discouraged foreign investment, according to the BBC.

Like several other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Belarus's economy — and its credit rating — is largely dependent on the Russian economy. U.S. and European-imposed sanctions on Russia following the crisis in Ukraine, as well as falling oil prices in recent years, are among the major contributors to the weakening confidence in Belarus's economy. In an attempt to counteract rampant inflation, Belarus tied its ruble to three foreign currencies in January: 40% Russian ruble, 30% U.S. dollars, and 30% euros.

Moody's in April downgraded Belarus's sovereign debt rating to Caa1 from B3 — Belarus is one of only seven countries with a credit rating worse than B. Ratings C and worse are associated with relatively high levels of uncertainty, and creditors can expect a 90% to 95% recovery rate — the expected percentage of principal and interest returned to lenders — in countries with Caa1 ratings.

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6. Argentina

> Moody's credit rating: Caa1

> Moody's outlook: Negative

> 2015 Gov't debt (pct. of GDP): 49.5%

> 2015 GDP per capita (PPP): $22,459

Argentina's current fiscal woes can be tied back to the late-1980s. In 1989, The New York Times reported that inflation in the South American country was estimated at an annual rate of 12,000%. In an attempt to tame the country's hyperinflation, the government tied its currency, the peso, to the U.S. dollar. While the peg had the desired effect and attracted foreign capital, it also hindered the Argentinian government's ability to counteract currency appreciations that made its exports more expensive relative to the rest of the world. Rather than abandon the peg, Argentina cut wages, which helped tame inflation but also drove unemployment up and tax receipts down. In 2001, Argentina defaulted on roughly $100 billion worth of debt.

While most of the nation's bondholders at the time agreed to debt restructuring deals, a few investors refused. After a U.S. court ruled in 2012 that Argentina could not pay its current bondholders without paying the holdouts as well, the country was forced to default in August, 2014. With elections this October, many presidential candidates are outlining their plans to revitalize Argentina's economy by tightening monetary and fiscal policy as well as looking to the international community to finance its debt.

5. Jamaica

> Moody's credit rating: Caa2

> Moody's outlook: Positive

> 2015 Gov't debt (pct. of GDP): 132.8%

> 2015 GDP per capita (PPP): $8,784

While Jamaica's credit rating of Caa2 is among the worst, it is a recent upgrade from a Caa3 rating. Moody's also upgraded the country's outlook to positive in May. No other country with such a poor rating has a positive outlook. Jamaica recently simplified its tax return filings, reformed tax incentives, and implemented a minimum business tax. According to Moody's, the improved business climate supports private investment and confidence in the economy.

Still, Jamaica's consistently high debt burden, coupled with high interest rates, have weakened the credit rating. Sovereign debt remained above 140% of GDP each year from 2009 through 2014, when it was third highest compared to other countries. Government debt fell slightly this year to an estimated 133% of GDP. However, this was still higher than all but three other countries.

4. Belize

> Moody's credit rating: Caa2

> Moody's outlook: Stable

> 2015 Gov't debt (pct. of GDP): 75.7%

> 2015 GDP per capita (PPP): $8,321

A small country in Central America, Belize is home to just over 360,000 people. It is one of the smallest economies in the world with a GDP of $1.8 billion. Borrowing heavily for infrastructure projects, Belize accumulated a total debt of over $540 million. In August 2012, the country's central bank announced that it would not be able to make a $23 million bond payment. Due to concerns surrounding the impending debt restructuring, Moody's downgraded the country's government bond rating to Caa1 from B3 in early 2012. It was later downgraded further to Ca only to be upgraded back to Caa2 in April 2013, after terms of the debt restructuring were agreed upon. Belize's Credit rating has remained stable at Caa2 since April 2013.

3. Venezuela

> Moody's credit rating: Caa3

> Moody's outlook: Stable

> 2015 Gov't debt (pct. of GDP): 39.6%

> 2015 GDP per capita (PPP): $16,346

Between September 2014 and January 2015, all three major credit rating companies downgraded Venezuela's credit. Moody's cited plummeting fuel prices as the primary factor in the downgrade. Nearly 94% of Venezuela's export earnings come from oil. Consequently, the country's risk of default increases substantially as fuel prices drop. Crude oil went from an average of $88.42 a barrel throughout 2014 to a mere $54.03 a barrel in December of 2014. Moody's predicts that Venezuela's account balance will shift from a 2% surplus of GDP in 2014 to a deficit of 2% of GDP in 2015. Despite the series of downgrades, Central Bank President Nelson Merentes expressed optimism that the Venezuelan economy would grow in 2015.

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2. Greece

> Moody's credit rating: Caa3

> Moody's outlook: Rating Under Review> 2015 Gov't debt (pct. of GDP): 172.7%

> 2015 GDP per capita (PPP): $26,773

Greece was among the countries hardest-hit by the 2008 global financial crisis, and the country eventually received several large bailouts totalling 240 billion euros. Greece defaulted on $138 billion of its debt in 2012, the largest sovereign default ever recorded. Debt restructuring following the default and a return to the international bond market last year were hopeful signs of economic recovery. However, the debt restructuring accompanied severe austerity measures at a time of already grim financial hardships for many Greek residents. Since 2012, the estimated unemployment rate in Greece has remained between 24% and 25%, among the highest in the world.

This January, Greece once again returned to the international spotlight after Greek voters elected the left-wing party Syriza, which would form the eurozone's first anti-austerity government. Greece's finance minister under Syriza, Yanis Varoufakis, supported a stubborn rejection of the terms offered by the troika: the European Union, the European Central Bank, and the IMF. In a historic referendum in July, a majority of Greeks voted "no" to spending cuts and tax increases demanded by repayment plans. Varoufakis resigned after only six months, however, and Greece's new finance minister, Euclid Tsakalotos, insists that "Greece is committed to honor its financial obligations to all of its creditors in a full and timely manner."

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1. Ukraine

> Moody's credit rating: Ca

> Moody's outlook: Negative

> 2015 Gov't debt (pct. of GDP): 94.1%

> 2015 GDP per capita (PPP): $8,278

Ukraine's conflict with Russia over its annexation of Crimea continues to fuel the country's financial problems. While the IMF approved Ukraine's debt restructuring plan in March, Ukraine has the worst credit rating of any country reviewed, downgraded this year from Caa3 to Ca, the second lowest possible level. Creditors can expect a 35% to 65% recovery rate on loans issued by the country. According to Moody's, "The likelihood of a distressed exchange, and hence a default on government debt taking place, is virtually 100%."

The same day that Moody's issued the downgrade, the National Bank of Ukraine announced the establishment of the Financial Stability Council. According to Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeriia Gonatreva, the Council's function will be to "take a comprehensive and systemic approach to identify and mitigate the risks threatening the stability of the banking and financial systems of the country."

24/7 Wall St. is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.