Country risk: Reasons for big changes

*Rank Sept 98*	*Change since Dec 97*	*Country*	*Explanation*
101	57	Guyana	Higher score for political risk. Economic projections given this time (not in previous survey).
74	57	St Lucia	Higher score for political risk. Economic projections given this time (not in previous survey).
109	53	Grenada	Much better scores for economic performance & debt indicators.
108	53	Haiti	Economic projections given by economists this time (not in previous survey).
46	53	Trinidad & Tobago	Higher score for political risk. Economic projections given this time (not in previous survey).
64	50	Dominican Republic	Economic projections given by economists this time (not in previous survey).
104	39	St Vincent & the Grenadines	Much better score for economic performance.
111	37	Mongolia	Economic projections given by economists this time (not in previous survey).
110	36	Dominica	Much better score for economic performance.
102	34	Honduras	Economic projections given by economists this time (not in previous survey).
116	26	Azerbaijan	Much better score for debt indicators.
130	25	Central African Republic	World Bank figures for debt indicators available.
113	24	Ethiopia	World Bank figures for debt indicators available.
145	21	Gambia	Economic projections given by economists this time (not in previous survey).
89	21	Iran	World Bank figures for debt indicators available.
65	21	Jamaica	Better score for political risk. Sovereign credit rating assigned since last survey.
26	21	Malta	Better scores for debt indicators & access to bank finance.
135	19	Albania	Much better score for debt in default/rescheduled.
125	19	Turkmenistan	World Bank figures for debt indicators available.
128	17	Kyrgyz Republic	Much better score for debt indicators (but worse score for debt in default/rescheduled).
140	17	Tonga	World Bank figures for debt indicators available.
151	16	Bhutan	Better scores for political risk & debt indicators.
118	16	Ukraine	Much better score for debt in default/rescheduled. Sovereign credit rating assigned since last survey.
134	15	Georgia	Better scores for political risk & debt indicators (but worse score for debt in default).
86	14	Ecuador	Much better score for debt in default/rescheduled.
44	14	Uruguay	Higher scores for economic performance & debt indicators.
49	13	Egypt	Better scores for debt indicators & sovereign credit ratings.
56	13	Morocco	Sovereign credit rating assigned since last survey.
160	12	Equatorial Guinea	Much better score for debt indicators.
52	11	Botswana	Higher scores for economic performance & debt indicators.
45	11	Colombia	Better scores for access to bank finance, short-term finance & capital mkts (but most other scores lower).
117	11	Madagascar	Better scores for political risk, economic performance, debt indicators & access to capital mkts.
95	11	Senegal	Better score for debt in default & slightly higher scores in several other sections.
167	11	Surinam	Economic projections given by economists this time (not in previous survey).
154	10	Mozambique	Better score for political risk. Economic projections given by economists this time.
38	10	Poland	Higher scores for political risk & debt indicators.
119	-10	Namibia	Slightly lower scores for access to short-term finance & capital mkts. No forfaiting figures.
87	-10	Vietnam	Lower scores for political risk, economic performance & sovereign credit ratings. No forfaiting figures.
143	-11	Macedonia	Lower scores for political risk, economic performance, debt indicators, debt in default/rescheduled. No forfaiting figures.
164	-12	Angola	Lower scores for economic performance, debt in default/rescheduled, access to capital mkts.
42	-12	Laos	Slightly lower scores for economic performance & access to short-term finance.
152	-12	South Korea	Lower scores for political risk, economic performance, sovereign credit ratings, access to short-term finance & forfaiting.
129	-13	Malawi	Lower scores for political risk & economic performance.
120	-13	Tanzania	Much lower score for economic performance.
105	-13	Uzbekistan	Lower score for economic performance. No forfaiting figures.
139	-14	Lesotho	Slightly lower scores for access to short-term finance & capal mkts.
153	-14	Myanmar	Lower scores for political risk & economic performance. No forfaiting figures.
155	-14	Nicaragua	Much lower score for economic performance (but better score for debt indicators).
133	-15	Chad	Slightly lower score for access to short-term finance.
106	-15	Nepal	Lower score for economic performance. No forfaiting figures.
132	-15	Nigeria	Lower scores for political risk & access to short-term finance (but higher scores in other sections).
148	-15	Western Samoa	Lower scores for political risk, debt indicators, debt in default/rescheduled & access to short-term finance.
71	-16	Panama	Much lower score for debt in default/rescheduled.
146	-16	Solomon Islands	No score for access to bank finance. Slightly lower one for access to short-term finance.
137	-18	Armenia	Slightly lower scores in various sections.
53	-18	Malaysia	Lower scores for political risk, economic performance, access to capital mkts. No forfaiting figures.
147	-21	Swaziland	Slightly lower scores for political risk, access to short-term finance & capital mkts.
168	-21	Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro)	Much lower score for economic performance & access to capital mkts. No forfaiting figures.
136	-21	Zambia	Lower score for economic performance.
150	-27	Seychelles	Lower scores for political risk & access to capital mkts.
69	-33	Brunei	No economic projections given by economists this time.
123	-35	Pakistan	Lower scores for political risk & economic performance. No forfaiting figures.
156	-36	Macau	No economic projections given by economists this time. No sovereign credit rating.
142	-38	Moldova	Lower scores in most sections.
88	-39	Indonesia	Lower scores for political risk, economic performance, sovereign credit ratings. No forfaiting figures.
77	-39	Mauritius	No economic projections given by economists this time.
170	-41	Tajikistan	Lowest score for debt in default/rescheduled. No sovereign credit rating, loan disbursements (access to bank finance) or forfaiting.
84	-44	Bahamas	No World Bank figures for debt indicators, debt in default/rescheduled, access to bank finance. No forfaiting figures.
138	-44	Vanuatu	No economic projections given by economists this time.
127	-49	Russia	Lower scores for economic performance, sovereign credit ratings, access to capital mkts, forfaiting.
114	-85	Bermuda	No economic projections given by economists this time.

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Country risk: Reasons for big changes

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