“Before the downgrade, two out of the three major credit agencies gave the U.S. a perfect AAA rating, with Standard and Poor’s having reduced it a notch to AA+ in 2011. That meant the U.S. was above the European Union, which has an AA rating from S&P and is rated AAA by Fitch and Moody’s. Now, only Moody’s gives the U.S. a pristine rating, putting it even with New Zealand, the island nation with a population of 5.1 million and a gross domestic product on par with Utah.”
Australia AAA Aaa AAA
Canada AAA Aaa AA+
Denmark AAA Aaa AAA
Germany AAA Aaa AAA
Luxembourg AAA Aaa AAA
Netherlands AAA Aaa AAA
Switzerland AAA Aaa AAA
Norway AAA Aaa AAA
Sweden AAA Aaa AAA
European Union AA Aaa AAA
Singapore AAA Aaa AAA
United States AA+ Aaa AA+
New Zealand AA+ Aaa AA+
Liechtenstein AAA Not rated Not rated
However, in its downgrade, Fitch highlighted dysfunction in the U.S. government, including repeated showdowns over the debt ceiling that have called into question whether the U.S. would default on its debts, as well as the ever-ballooning national debt.