I Dont Understand

[erik2]

i hear people on tv / radio say that were (uk) the 4th richest nation in the world, but how does this come about, we owe 1.7 trillion pounds in debt ,to me anybody can say they are rich by borrowing money, and also to me nobody can be call rich till your debts are paid off

[hc4361]

The US debt is $20 trillion so maybe the UK has the 4th smallest debt to asset ration.

[-Talbot-]

How have you come up with the UK being the 4th richest country?

[erik2]

as i said it was said on tv /radio, question time last night and on newsnight programes in the recent past

[erik2]

having said that i think they must have meant this -:
https://fullfact.org/economy/uk-worlds-5th-or-9th-largest-economy/ but they did say the "richest" on tv..

[ichkeria]

The UK is nowhere near 4th on the list of richest countries by per capita income, but it is in the top ten largest economies in the world, exact position open to debate depending on how you measure it

[Buenchico]

I was taught (in primary school) that a country's wealth is measured by its gross domestic product. That puts the UK either 5th or 6th, depending upon whose statistics you go with:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)

[emmie]

i believe we are fifth overall, at least that is what the news tells us.