Major foreign holders treasury securities U.S. 2024 | Statista (2024)

FAQs

Who are the major foreign holders of US Treasury securities? ›

Nearly half of all US foreign-owned debt comes from five countries. All values are adjusted to 2023 dollars. As of January 2023, the five countries owning the most US debt are Japan ($1.1 trillion), China ($859 billion), the United Kingdom ($668 billion), Belgium ($331 billion), and Luxembourg ($318 billion).

As the Chinese accumulate more and more gold, they're dumping U.S. Treasuries. That raises an important question: who is going to keep funding the federal government's borrowing spree? China offloaded another $22.7 billion in U.S. Treasuries in February, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve.

China has little overseas debt, and a high national savings rate. In addition, most of the debt is state owned – state-controlled banks loaned funds to state-controlled firms – giving the government the ability to manage the situation.

Public debt is held by the public: individual investors, institutions, foreign governments. After intragovernmental holdings, the next largest category is national debt held by foreign governments. Of those, Japan has the most, followed by China.

China Holdings of US Treasury Securities data was reported at 775.000 USD bn in Feb 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 797.700 USD bn for Jan 2024. China Holdings of US Treasury Securities data is updated monthly, averaging 945.850 USD bn from Mar 2000 (Median) to Feb 2024, with 288 observations.

What countries does the U.S. owe money to? The United States owes money to many countries, including Japan, mainland China, the U.K., Ireland, Luxembourg, Brazil, Switzerland and Belgium, among others.

Who does the United States owe the biggest share of the national debt to? ›

Japan owns the most at $1.1 trillion, followed by China, with $859 billion, and the United Kingdom at $668 billion. In isolation, this $7.4 trillion amount is a lot, said Scott Morris, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.

India takes the top spot. The world's most populous country owed $38.3bn to the WB at the end of 2022, down by almost $1.5bn from a year earlier.

Consequences of Owing Debt to the Chinese

If China called in all of its U.S. holdings, the U.S. dollar would depreciate, whereas the yuan would appreciate, making Chinese goods more expensive.

If China (or any other nation that has a trade surplus with the U.S.) stops buying U.S. Treasuries or even starts dumping its U.S. forex reserves, its trade surplus would become a trade deficit—something which no export-oriented economy would want, as they would be worse off as a result.

Holdings totaled $7.965 trillion, up from a revised $7.945 trillion in January. Treasuries owned by foreigners rose 8.7% from a year earlier. Holdings of Treasuries grew the most in Belgium, by $27 billion, to hit $320 billion.

The Federal Reserve, which purchases and sells Treasury securities as a means to influence federal interest rates and the nation's money supply, is the largest holder of such debt.

In February, China remained the second largest holder of US government debt. However, China's holding of US government debt has been below the $1 trillion mark since April 2022. In January 2024, China trimmed holdings of US treasuries by $18.6 billion.

It is also possible to buy U.S. Treasury bills through a government securities broker or dealer, who can help facilitate the purchase on your behalf. You may need to provide documentation such as a passport or other identification to open an account and buy U.S. Treasury bills.

China Holdings of US Treasury Securities data was reported at 775.000 USD bn in Feb 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 797.700 USD bn for Jan 2024. China Holdings of US Treasury Securities data is updated monthly, averaging 945.850 USD bn from Mar 2000 (Median) to Feb 2024, with 288 observations.