The rise of central government debt loads around the world has gotten investors obsessing once more over the risk of sovereign default, fearing a replay of the 2007-08 financial crisis, the 2009-2011 eurozone debt crisis, and the ensuing return of a global recession. While sovereign defaults—in which a nation can't pay its bills or debt obligations, making it technically bankrupt—are frightening, they are actually quite common and may not lead to the worst-case scenario that many are expecting. Here are seven facts about sovereign defaults that might surprise you