Global debt comparison tool (The Economist)

I came across this useful tool that compares the public debt of all countries in the world.

The press release about this tool says the following:
"The Global Public Debt Clock was developed using data and forecasts from the Economist Intelligence Unit database. It is, of course, inspired by the 'National Debt Clock', a rolling measure of the US public debt that physically resides in midtown Manhattan. This clock was originally sponsored by a real estate developer, Seymour Durst, who wanted to make people aware of the rising public debt, which at the time was less than $3 trillion. The Global Public Debt Clock includes historical data on sovereign debt back to 1999 and forecasts through 2011. Data can be parsed to view country comparisons, including figures on public debt per capita, debt as a percent of GDP, and yearly rate of change."

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Just a few things I noticed for 2009:

- USA has a debt of $7.2 trillion and debt per capita of $23,560 while China has a public debt of $935 billion and debt per capita of only $701.

- Japan has the highest level of public debt: $9.5 trillion

- Zimbabwe has the worst level of public debt as % of GDP: 295%! But Japan is second with a figure of 190%.

- Japan has the worst figure for public debt per capita: $75,000. Iceland is following with $52,000.