Countries are not immune to getting into large amounts of debt and then having to struggle to get out of it.

For example—Argentina.

Around a century ago, Argentina was on track to become a European-style country. The location and natural resources were bountiful, the population was educated, and residents enjoyed a high standard of living.

However, Argentina suffered a difficult century, from revolutions to dictatorships to a fruitless battle against the UK for the tiny Falkland Islands.

Things came to a head in 2001, when Argentina stunned the world and “stopped payment on roughly $100 billion worth of debt in December 2001 – the largest sovereign default in world history – amid a financial meltdown and economic depression.”

Now, Argentina has just $9.7 billion in unpaid debt, and has finally found a way to settle it through investor group Paris Club, which includes “Austria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.”

Per the agreement:

Argentina must make a minimum initial payment of $1.15 billion by May 2015 and a second payment by May 2016.
“The scheme offers a framework for a sustainable and definitive solution to the question of arrears due by the Argentine Republic to Paris Club creditors,” the statement said.

It goes to show that no individual and no country is immune to high debt.