How much US government debt is owned by other countries?
Updates published monthly
About 25%, as of March 2025, or $9.05 trillion. When the federal government spends more money than it collects in revenue, it sells US Treasury securities to bring in cash and pay for the difference. People, governments, corporations, and investment funds like retirement accounts — both US and international — can purchase these.
$9.05T
US debt owned by all foreign countries (March 2025), current dollars
25%
share of US debt owned by other countries (March 2025)
US Treasury securities are investments — buyers purchase them for one price and expect to profit on a later transaction, either by selling them or being repaid by the government with interest once the assets mature. The value of these securities that have yet to be repaid are debts owed by the government. Except US savings bonds, Treasury securities are considered “marketable” — they can be transferred or sold to other investors before they mature. Different marketable securities pay interest on different schedules and have different maturity timelines; all are considered liquid assets, meaning they’re easily converted into cash.
US Treasury securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the US government, making them popular around the world as a safe, liquid store of value. At the end of March 2025, 25% of US debt was owned by governments, corporations, and people outside of the US. This was 9.1 percentage points lower than the March 2013 peak of 34.1% and 1.5 percentage points lower than March 2024.
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25% of US debt is owned by governments, corporations, and people in other countries.
Through March 2025
The liquidity offered by US securities is especially valuable during periods of financial stress which, according to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, often prompt foreign investors to swap their securities for cash. This dynamic is visible in the declines in foreign-owned debt during the COVID-19 pandemic and the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000, though the source notes that the Great Recession that began at the end of 2007 is the exception to this pattern.
$8.88 trillion of US debt is owned by other countries.
Through March 2025, adjusted for inflation (2024 dollars)
All data on foreign-owned US debt comes from the Treasury International Capital (TIC) data reporting system, which produces monthly reports with up-to-date summaries of total foreign-owned US debt. The TIC system also produces an annual report, Foreign Portfolio Holdings of US Securities, that provides a more granular but less current look at which countries hold US debt.
Japan is the top holder of US debt.
Top ten holders of US debt as of 2024, current dollars
As of 2024, ten US debt holders owned 59.8% of all foreign-held debt.
Japan, China, and the United Kingdom were the three largest foreign holders in 2024. Japan, the largest holder, took over the top spot from China in 2019. China was the largest holder from 2009 through 2019, and Japan from 2000 through 2008.
Japan holds $309.4B more in US debt than China, the next largest holder.
Top three foreign holders of US debt as of 2024, billions of 2024 dollars
The complexity of the global financial system can obscure the home country of the actual owner of US debt. This is because debt that is held by a financial institution in one country on behalf of someone in another is recorded as belonging to the country where the intermediary is located. The result of this custodial bias is that the amount of US debt owned by residents of international financial hubs like Belgium, UK, Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Ireland is overstated.
All foreign holders of US debt
| 1. | Afghanistan | $533,000,000 |
| 2. | Albania | $853,000,000 |
| 3. | Algeria | $675,000,000 |
| 4. | Andorra | $691,000,000 |
| 5. | Angola | $1,329,000,000 |
| 6. | Anguilla | $230,000,000 |
| 7. | Antigua and Barbuda | $394,000,000 |
| 8. | Argentina | $9,001,000,000 |
| 9. | Armenia | $812,000,000 |
| 10. | Aruba | $483,000,000 |
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
