Closing businesses and population decline brought the city to downfall
City authorities of Detroit (U.S.) applied to court to declare the city bankrupt, Reuters reports.
As the city administration explains, in recent years, many local businesses closed down (the region was once known as the center of automotive industry), and Detroit's population fell from 1.8 million to 700 thousand people, every fifth of them unemployed.
City’s external debt is about $18.5 billion with the budget deficit of $380 million. There have been attempts to settle disputes with creditors, but the negotiations failed.
If Detroit is recognized bankrupt, it will be the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history.
