As the U.S. dollar goes the way of the German "Papier Mark" after World War 1, the economy slowly grinds to a halt, and the imperial federal gov't becomes yet more abusive and unresponsive, smart people may want to start looking into better options.

I have no idea how many here have considered the concept, but let me introduce you all to some numbers. The following is a world financial ranking. Please, please pay very special note to the nation at the very bottom of the list. If "Great Depression II" rings a bell, then you may want to consider relocation to nations in the top 10...while you still can.

Rank Country Current account balance Date of Information
1 China $ 363,300,000,000 2007 est.
2 Japan $ 195,900,000,000 2007 est.
3 Germany $ 185,100,000,000 2007 est.
4 Saudi Arabia $ 88,890,000,000 2007 est.
5 Russia $ 74,000,000,000 2007 est.
6 Switzerland $ 67,890,000,000 2007 est.
7 Netherlands $ 59,280,000,000 2007 est.
8 Norway $ 55,820,000,000 2007 est.
9 Kuwait $ 51,490,000,000 2007 est.
10 Singapore $ 41,390,000,000 2007 est.
11 United Arab Emirates $ 36,110,000,000 2007 est.
12 Algeria $ 31,500,000,000 2007 est.
13 Sweden $ 30,190,000,000 2007 est.
14 Canada $ 28,460,000,000 2007 est.
15 Malaysia $ 25,930,000,000 2007 est.
16 Taiwan $ 24,700,000,000 2006
17 Hong Kong $ 19,870,000,000 2007 est.
18 Iran $ 19,000,000,000 2007 est.
19 Venezuela $ 17,020,000,000 2007 est.
20 Nigeria $ 14,610,000,000 2007 est.
21 Angola $ 13,640,000,000 2007 est.
22 Austria $ 12,610,000,000 2007 est.
23 Libya $ 11,710,000,000 2007 est.
24 Luxembourg $ 11,300,000,000 2007 est.
25 Finland $ 11,240,000,000 2007
26 Belgium $ 11,040,000,000 2007 est.
27 Indonesia $ 10,210,000,000 2007 est.
28 Brazil $ 10,200,000,000 2007 est.
29 Thailand $ 8,619,000,000 2007 est.
30 Chile $ 8,184,000,000 2007 est.
31 Iraq $ 7,802,000,000 2007 est.
32 Qatar $ 7,733,000,000 2007 est.
33 Azerbaijan $ 7,535,000,000 2007 est.
34 Argentina $ 7,438,000,000 2007 est.
35 Philippines $ 6,700,000,000 2007 est.
36 Korea, South $ 5,950,000,000 2007
37 Israel $ 5,941,000,000 2007 est.
38 Denmark $ 4,699,000,000 2007 est.
39 Turkmenistan $ 4,300,000,000 2007 est.
40 Trinidad and Tobago $ 3,884,000,000 2007 est.
41 Oman $ 3,785,000,000 2007 est.
42 Egypt $ 3,115,000,000 2007 est.
43 Uzbekistan $ 3,045,000,000 2007 est.
44 Botswana $ 2,231,000,000 2007 est.
45 Peru $ 2,045,000,000 2007 est.
46 Bahrain $ 2,009,000,000 2007 est.
47 Burma $ 1,676,000,000 2007 est.
48 Gabon $ 1,626,000,000 2007 est.
49 Cyprus $ 1,469,000,000 2007 est.
50 Bolivia $ 1,325,000,000 2007 est.
51 Congo, Republic of the $ 1,094,000,000 2007 est.
52 Namibia $ 1,065,000,000 2007 est.
53 Cote d'Ivoire $ 1,056,000,000 2007 est.
54 Bangladesh $ 683,000,000 2007 est.
55 Morocco $ 433,900,000 2007 est.
56 Papua New Guinea $ 314,000,000 2007 est.
57 Equatorial Guinea $ 250,000,000 2007 est.
58 Yemen $ 178,000,000 2007 est.
59 British Virgin Islands $ 134,300,000 1999
60 Cook Islands $ 26,670,000 2005
61 Palau $ 15,090,000 FY03/04
62 Samoa $ -2,428,000 FY03/04
63 Tuvalu $ -11,680,000 2003
64 Comoros $ -17,000,000 2005 est.
65 Kiribati $ -19,870,000 2004
66 Tonga $ -25,200,000 FY06/07
67 Swaziland $ -26,710,000 2007 est.
68 Lesotho $ -28,000,000 2007 est.
69 Vanuatu $ -28,350,000 2003
70 Gambia, The $ -31,690,000 2007 est.
71 Micronesia, Federated States of $ -34,300,000 FY05 est.
72 Macedonia $ -37,560,000 November 2007
73 Anguilla $ -42,870,000 2003 est.
74 Belize $ -54,000,000 2007 est.
75 Sao Tome and Principe $ -58,000,000 2007 est.
76 Kosovo $ -58,300,000 2007
77 Paraguay $ -73,000,000 2007
78 Antigua and Barbuda $ -83,400,000 2004
79 Tajikistan $ -102,000,000 2007 est.
80 Burundi $ -137,300,000 2007 est.
81 Seychelles $ -141,000,000 2007 est.
82 Chad $ -144,500,000 2007 est.
83 Togo $ -165,500,000 2007 est.
84 Rwanda $ -172,800,000 2007 est.
85 Guinea $ -175,000,000 2007 est.
86 Malawi $ -180,000,000 2007 est.
87 Haiti $ -184,800,000 2007 est.
88 Cape Verde $ -218,000,000 2007 est.
89 Guyana $ -229,700,000 2007 est.
90 Uganda $ -241,000,000 2007 est.
91 Benin $ -278,800,000 2007 est.
92 Eritrea $ -343,100,000 2007 est.
93 Laos $ -355,000,000 2007 est.
94 Uruguay $ -400,000,000 2007 est.
95 Cambodia $ -410,000,000 2007 est.
96 Malta $ -411,000,000 2007 est.
97 Armenia $ -440,000,000 2007 est.
98 Honduras $ -446,000,000 2007 est.
99 Fiji $ -465,800,000 2006 est.
101 Cameroon $ -501,000,000 2007 est.
101 Zimbabwe $ -538,000,000 2005 est.
102 Mauritius $ -552,000,000 2007 est.
103 Moldova $ -569,000,000 2007 est.
104 Ecuador $ -600,000,000 2007 est.
105 Kyrgyzstan $ -677,300,000 2007 est.
106 Mozambique $ -726,000,000 2007 est.
107 Cuba $ -750,000,000 2007 est.
108 Burkina Faso $ -752,000,000 2007
109 Nicaragua $ -754,000,000 2007 est.
110 Zambia $ -856,000,000 2007 est.
111 Panama $ -861,000,000 2007 est.
112 Albania $ -918,000,000 2007 est.
113 El Salvador $ -929,000,000 2007 est.
114 Tunisia $ -935,000,000 2007 est.
115 Kenya $ -980,000,000 2007 est.
116 Senegal $ -1,085,000,000 2007 est.
117 Sri Lanka $ -1,118,000,000 2007 est.
118 Madagascar $ -1,145,000,000 2007 est.
119 Slovenia $ -1,165,000,000 2007 est.
120 Vietnam $ -1,199,000,000 2007 est.
121 Costa Rica $ -1,259,000,000 2007 est.
122 Tanzania $ -1,422,000,000 2007 est.
123 Jamaica $ -1,573,000,000 2007 est.
124 Georgia $ -1,582,000,000 2007 est.
125 Jordan $ -1,690,000,000 2007 est.
126 Guatemala $ -1,772,000,000 2007 est.
127 Ethiopia $ -1,851,000,000 2007 est.
128 Ghana $ -1,885,000,000 2007 est.
129 Dominican Republic $ -1,993,000,000 2007 est.
130 Bosnia and Herzegovina $ -2,021,000,000 2007 est.
131 Syria $ -2,160,000,000 2007 est.
132 Belarus $ -3,056,000,000 2007 est.
133 Estonia $ -3,092,000,000 2007 est.
134 Slovakia $ -3,119,000,000 2007 est.
135 Lebanon $ -3,337,000,000 2007 est.
136 Iceland $ -3,384,000,000 2007 est.
137 Croatia $ -3,836,000,000 2007 est.
138 Ukraine $ -3,890,000,000 2007 est.
139 Sudan $ -4,465,000,000 2007 est.
140 Kazakhstan $ -4,643,000,000 2007 est.
141 Colombia $ -5,132,000,000 2007 est.
142 Lithuania $ -5,320,000,000 2007 est.
143 Mexico $ -5,414,000,000 2007 est.
144 Czech Republic $ -5,701,000,000 2007 est.
145 Latvia $ -5,839,000,000 2007 est.
146 Pakistan $ -6,477,000,000 2007 est.
147 Hungary $ -6,681,000,000 2007 est.
148 Serbia $ -6,700,000,000 2007 est.
149 Bulgaria $ -7,189,000,000 2007 est.
150 New Zealand $ -9,973,000,000 2007 est.
151 Ireland $ -12,600,000,000 2007 est.
152 Poland $ -18,130,000,000 2007 est.
153 India $ -18,530,000,000 2007 est.
154 Portugal $ -18,530,000,000 2007 est.
155 South Africa $ -20,060,000,000 2007 est.
156 Romania $ -22,600,000,000 2007
157 France $ -35,940,000,000 2007 est.
158 Turkey $ -36,270,000,000 2007 est.
159 Greece $ -36,400,000,000 2007 est.
160 Australia $ -50,960,000,000 2007 est.
161 Italy $ -57,940,000,000 2007 est.
162 United Kingdom $ -111,000,000,000 2007 est.
163 Spain $ -126,300,000,000 2007 est.
164 United States $ -747,100,000,000 2007 est.

Current account information is useful but only gives part of the picture. Oh yes, if the dollar goes belly up, your list will change dramatically because everyone holding greenbacks is screeeewwwed

Yeah, the U.S.S Greenback has hit the iceberg, its all over but the screaming.

Ive heard it said that the "world currency" is no longer the American dollar, but oil. Nations with oil and a solid manufacturing base (Canada, Germany, etc) will be able to weather the storm. Those nations without a solid base will suffer the same fate as Germany after WW1. Starvation, poverty, internal strife, going on for a decade or more.

Oddly enough, Ukraine is steadily improving its agriculture and manufacturing base, the population has already survived the breakdown of the soviet union, and their people place value on family, something America stopped doing a long time ago.

So what you're saying is...if the value of the $ drops to 0, we stand to gain the most? We're heading that way...

I wouldn't worry too much - the nice thing about being the largest net debtor nation is that the international market has a vested interest in keeping the dollar afloat. It's not going to crash to zero. The old saying goes if you owe the bank $1,000 the banks own you. If you owe the bank $100,000,000 - you own them.

When some farmers openly admit they can no longer afford to till their fields because the cost of fuel is too high, you are seeing the beginning of terrible things. This is actually happening, by the way.

What will happen when fuel goes to $10 a gallon?

I am so glad you included Ukraine (#138) but you forgot to list in Hryvnia! LOL!

More inmportant that US domestic product is still largest. Even China cannot come close. Russia, Kuwait etc have oil, but still US companies have best technology to recover it (the leftovers in old wells). The professionalism of US companies surpases European and others. They need decades to catch up, I think. Weak dollar is bad for us (god, it is expensive to travel), but not so bad for manufacturing sector etc.