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What happens when a country can't pay its debts? Does it lose a piece of its land, some of its institutions? Well, first of all, when that happens you won't be able to just take over them or take pieces of their lands. And also they don't go bankrupt, they get defaulted. Defaulting basically the countries inability to pay the due debts in a specific period. 

# Let's Take Argentina for Example 

In the early 1900s, Argentina was at the peak of its financial success, so much so that Italians would immigrate from Italy to start their lives in Argentina. There was a point in time where around 50% of Argentina's population was born outside of Argentina. Until 1914, Argentina had an annual financial growth of 6%. Even during the first world war, Argentinians were the ones were selling England grains and plants. 

# The Good Days Didn't Last 

Argentina's thrive didn't last for long and it started to break in 1930 where it witnessed the first of six military coups, the latter 4 happened in 1943, 1955, 1962, 1966, and 1976. That is six military coups in less than 50 years. Add to that inflation that went up by 2000%, corruption, and Neo-Liberal policies that privatized country properties as debts continued to grow.

Long story short, Argentina started privatizing and selling many of its institutions and national companies, airlines, petrol companies, everything was up for grab, all to avoid the day that eventually came in 26/12/2001, Argentina falls behind paying 93 billion dollars worth of debt, the biggest debt to fall behind paying until that point. 

Suddenly, everyone who had money in Argentina took it out as everyone was expecting the currency to collapse. Not a dime entered Argentina in two years as of 2003, prices went up by 40%, the economy loses 11% of its power, the average personal income goes down by around 60% from where it was before 2001. Argentina's situation is hopeless as there are still companies and banks demanding their money. 

# A Greece Catastrophy 

In March 2012, the Greece government fails to pay 138 billion dollars. The biggest of all time. The scary part about Greece is that it is a country that is, by every meaning of the definition, a developed country. It was the first time that a developed country fails behind paying its debt. 

Greece's problems continued as usually when a country falls behind in debts it would go to the national bank and print more money, resulting in prices going up, but also making it a great place for importation making it a great place for investments. However, Greece shares a currency with 19 other countries, so that wasn't a real option. 

Greece's fall can be seen through the type of country it is, a tourism country, and a tourism country can't function well when rich countries get hit with a crisis, such as the financial crisis of 2007–2008. 

Greece had other countries with stakes in its well beings since it is part of the EU. It was only a question of who'd follow if Greece falls especially that since the EU became a thing and the currency has been unified all banks and countries started passing to each other, basically all the banks are tied together, one way or another. 

That led the EU to apply to get a loan for 110 billion Euros, and nothing changed, another 130, still nothing. There was only one last resort after Greece failed to pay a debt of 138 billion dollars, but the worst part was a billion and 700 million to the International Monetary Fund. In the world of economy, you don't go to the International Monetary Fund unless it is the very last resort.

After that, and to stay on top of the debts, Greece sold 60% of its second-biggest port, a port that connected Greece to the Black Sea and the Balkans. And prior to that, a Chinese purchased 51% of the biggest port in Greece. Greece's economic power dropped by 25%, the unemployment rate went up to 27%, these aren't recession numbers, these are depression numbers. 

# The Worst Part 

In 2015, the Greece government issued a poll to its citizens on whether to accept the hard terms and austerity life or take more loans, 61% rejected getting more loans. However, the will of the people didn't matter. 

> A Coup D'Etat using banks instead of tanks

Those were the words of Greece's minister of finance at the time, he was a poet and he didn't even know it. 

It may not be fair to describe it as a Coup, but the EU had invested too much in Greece to just risk it. However, we are talking about a first-world, developed country, strictly and directly ignoring what the majority of its country wanted. 

# In Conclusion 

Greece not only lost the majority of a port or two, not only had its unemployment rate go up, but it also lost the one thing democratic countries are known for. Greece ignored the will and want of its people and followed what the EU and International Monetary Fund told its government to do. That, along with what happened in Argentina should paint a clear picture that it will take tens and tens of years, maybe even more, for a country to come back from falling behind its debt, that if it even does comeback