The debt positions of various eurozone economies are generally well known. The highly indebted Italian government for instance has a net debt of 132% of its gross domestic product. Less well known are the balance of payments positions and foreign debt.

Italy normally has a balance of payments deficit, but it currently has a surplus indicating that it is exporting more than it is importing and/or is receiving more income on its foreign assets than foreigners are earning on their Italian assets. Capital is also flowing out of Italy.