Net international investment position
The net international investment position (NIIP) is the difference between the external financial assets and liabilities of a country. External debt of a country includes government debt and private debt. External assets publicly and privately held by a country's legal residents are also taken into account when calculating NIIP. Commodities and currencies tend to follow a cyclical pattern of significant valuation changes, which is also reflected in NIIP. The International investment position (IIP) of a country is a financial statement of the value and composition of its external financial assets and liabilities. A positive NIIP  value indicates that a nation is a creditor nation, while a negative value indicates that it is a "debtor nation". History. The US was the world's largest creditor until the 1960s. However, over the last few decades, the US has become the world's largest debtor. Since the 1980s, Japan replaced the US as the world's largest creditor nation. With the ascent of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's credit position since 2015, China (including Hong Kong and Macau) and Japan have been competing for the top creditor position.