Debt and investments: analysis of selected countries

Starting with overview of existing approaches to meaning and use of the terms the paper focuses on analysis of two indicators vital in any economy – debt and investments. It discusses the differences of sovereign and country debts as well as internal and external debts. Public debt is important indicator for government performance evaluation but outcome and impact of total external debt should be on focus too for sustainable growth of any country. The article discusses the results of analysis conducted with regard to the gross public debt, gross external debt by sectors. Further analysis is focused on Foreign Direct Investment and External Debt stocks of the selected countries which are from developing and emerging economies. Empirical analysis of external debt and foreign direct investments of Kazakhstan is carried out as of the country which leads the list of Foreign Direct Investment related component of the external debt. We discuss the important factors to be further investigated with regard to debt management and investment policy of a country.