Foreign governments who have purchased U.S. treasuries include China, Japan, Brazil, Ireland, the U.K. and others. China represents 29 percent of all treasuries issued to other countries, which corresponds to $1.18 trillion. Japan holds the equivalent of $1.03 trillion in treasuries.
The public holds over $22 trillion of the national debt. 3 Foreign governments hold a large portion of the public debt, while the rest is owned by U.S. banks and investors, the Federal Reserve, state and local governments, mutual funds, pensions funds, insurance companies, and holders of savings bonds.
Continuing a trend that began early in 2021, China's portfolio of U.S. government debt in May dropped to $980.8 billion, according to Treasury Department data released Monday. That's a decline of nearly $23 billion from April and down nearly $100 billion, or 9%, from the year-earlier month.
Foreign holders of United States treasury debt
Of the total 7.42 trillion held by foreign countries, Japan and Mainland China held the greatest portions. China held 980.8 billion U.S. dollars in U.S. securities. Japan held 1.21 trillion U.S. dollars worth.
China has steadily accumulated U.S. Treasury securities over the last few decades. As of October 2021, the Asian nation owns $1.065 trillion, or about 3.68%, of the $28.9 trillion U.S. national debt, which is more than any other foreign country except Japan.
China's debt is more than 250 percent of GDP, higher than the United States.
There are countries such as Jersey and Guernsey which have no national debt, so the pay no interest. All this started with the Napoleonic wars when the government borrowed money to fund the war.
If China ever did call in its debt, it slowly would begin selling off its Treasury holdings. Even at a slow pace, dollar demand would drop. That would hurt China's competitiveness by raising the yuan's value relative to the dollar. At some price point, U.S. consumers would buy American products instead.
These funds are on deposit, mainly in the form of Treasury bonds at the Bank of England. The pension funds, therefore, have an asset which has to be offset by a liability, or a debt, of the government. As of the end of 2016, 27.6% of the national debt was owed to overseas governments and investors.
Can the U.S. Pay Off its Debt? As budget deficits are one of the factors that contribute to the national debt, the U.S. can take measures to pay off its debt through budget surpluses. The last time that the U.S. held a budget surplus was in 2001.
As of 2022, the Japanese public debt is estimated to be approximately US$12.20 trillion US Dollars (1.4 quadrillion yen), or 266% of GDP, and is the highest of any developed nation. 45% of this debt is held by the Bank of Japan.
According to a report published by Moody's Analytics, the US GDP would decline, approximately 6 million jobs would be lost and the unemployment rate would increase dramatically. And, just as significantly, the country's track record, at least as far as paying its debts is concerned, would be irrevocably stained.
According to the Bank of Russia's estimate, external debt of the Russian Federation as of June 30, 2022 totaled $472.8 billion, having decreased by $9.2 billion, or by 1.9%, since the last year-end.
Japan, with its population of 127,185,332, has the highest national debt in the world at 234.18% of its GDP, followed by Greece at 181.78%. Japan's national debt currently sits at ¥1,028 trillion ($9.087 trillion USD).
What is global debt? Global debt is borrowing by governments, businesses and people, and it's at dangerously high levels. In 2021, global debt reached a record $303 trillion, according to the Institute of International Finance, a global financial industry association.
Since a sovereign government, by definition, controls its own affairs, it cannot be obliged to pay back its debt. Nonetheless, governments may face severe pressure from lending countries.
Which Country Owes the Most Money to China? Venezuela is the country with the greatest sovereign debt exposure to China, in terms of direct lending (excluding portfolio holdings), according to AidData's 2021 study, totaling $74.7 billion.
Tax Cuts. Large tax cuts passed by Congress during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Donald Trump have played a large part in the subsequent deterioration of government finances and the resulting growth in the national debt.
By the end of 2021, the federal government had $28.43 trillion in federal debt.
The statistic shows the national debt of China from 2017 to 2020, with projections up until 2027. In 2020, the national debt of China amounted to around 10,418.31 billion U.S. dollars.
In 2020, the African countries with the largest Chinese debt were Angola ($25 billion), Ethiopia ($13.5 billion), Zambia ($7.4 billion), the Republic of the Congo ($7.3 billion), and Sudan ($6.4 billion).
As a result, the U.S. actually did become debt free, for the first and only time, at the beginning of 1835 and stayed that way until 1837. It remains the only time that a major country was without debt.
For those of you who like to shop…you'd have to spend $5 million a day for the next 546 years. And if you laid a trillion one-dollar bills end-to-end, they would wrap around the equator over 380 times and you'd still have 17 laps to go.