What country owes the US the most money?
Japan and China have been the largest foreign holders of US debt for the last two decades. Japan and China held almost 50% of all foreign-owned US debt between 2004 and 2006. However, this has declined over time, and as of 2022 they controlled approximately 25% of foreign-owned debt.
- As of Dec. ...
- U.S. national debt is categorized as intragovernmental debt and public debt. ...
- The remainder is public debt. ...
- As of Dec. ...
- Japan held $1.1 trillion in Treasury securities as of October 2023, beating out China as the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt.
Japan and China have been the largest foreign holders of US debt for the last two decades. Japan and China held almost 50% of all foreign-owned US debt between 2004 and 2006. However, this has declined over time, and as of 2022 they controlled approximately 25% of foreign-owned debt.
The United States pays interest on approximately $850 billion in debt held by the People's Republic of China. China, however, is currently in default on its sovereign debt held by American bondholders.
The largest holder of U.S. debt is the U.S government. Which agencies own the most Treasury notes, bills, and bonds? Social Security, by a long shot. The U.S. Treasury publishes this information in its monthly Treasury statement.
- Bermuda. Total Debt Held: $77.4 Billion. ...
- Germany. Total Debt Held: $91.3 Billion. ...
- Norway. Total Debt Held: $104.4 Billion. ...
- Korea. Total Debt Held: $105.8 Billion. ...
- Saudi Arabia. Total Debt Held: $111 Billion. ...
- France. Total Debt Held: $183.9 Billion. ...
- Singapore. ...
- Brazil.
Japan sells more to the U.S. than it buys from the U.S. and thus has excess dollars; Japanese investors can easily get a better and safer return by buying U.S. Treasury bonds than by buying other investment vehicles.
It is also one of the most prosperous countries on the planet. And all this has been achieved without taking on any meaningful public debt. In fact, very much like Norway, Singapore has more assets than debt. Which means that de facto the Singaporean government has no net debt.
Debt as a share of GDP has risen to about the same level as in the United States, while in dollar terms China's total debt ($47.5 trillion) is still markedly below that of the United States (close to $70 trillion). As for non-financial corporate debt, China's 28 percent share is the largest in the world.
But how did Japan find itself in this situation? Japan's descent into its debt trap began in the 1990s with the burst of a real estate bubble. This problem was further compounded by high demand for stimulus packages and an ageing population, which has caused Japan's debt to continually pile up until at least 2021.
Does the US owe China trillions?
As of Oct. 2022, China owns $769.6 billion of the total $7,565 billion U.S. national debt.
It's going to put it into bonds of other countries. It will have to buy other currencies in order to invest in those countries' bonds. So US interest rates will no doubt rise as the supply of US Treasury bonds suddenly increases and the dollar will fall as China moves a lot of money out of dollars.
But other experts argue the risk of a hard landing is low. 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.
At the top is Japan, whose national debt has remained above 100% of its GDP for two decades, reaching 255% in 2023.
United States. The United States boasts both the world's biggest national debt in terms of dollar amount and its largest economy, which resolves to a debt-to GDP ratio of approximately 128.13%.
Owning U.S. Treasury notes helps China's economy grow. Demand for dollar-denominated bonds raises the dollar value compared to that of the yuan. That makes Chinese exports cheaper than American-made goods, increasing sales. U.S. consumers benefit from low consumer prices.
Japan owns the most at $1.1 trillion, followed by China, with $859 billion, and the United Kingdom at $668 billion.
On the other hand, Mexico holds about $34B of US debt. So if we were to make a balance, Mexico owes the US $134B, more or less, or about 8% of what it makes in a year.
As Elmendorf and Mankiw (1999) report, “an important factor behind the dramatic drop between 1945 and 1975 is that the growth rate of GDP exceeded the interest rate on government debt for most of that period.” Krugman (2012) says that the “debt from World War II was never repaid and just became increasingly irrelevant ...
Russia holds US Treasury bonds worth about 170 billion USD. This gives Putin exactly zero leverage over the US government.
Why is the US in so much debt?
Years of elevated budget deficits, exacerbated by massive federal spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, have taken the debt to historic levels: totaling more than $26 trillion in 2023, U.S. federal government debt is now at its highest percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) since World War II.
Federal Borrowing
The federal government borrows money from the public by issuing securities—bills, notes, and bonds—through the Treasury. Treasury securities are attractive to investors because they are: Backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.
Government Debt to GDP in Russia is expected to reach 18.10 percent of GDP by the end of 2024, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations.
Luxembourg, whose financial sector makes up 25% of its GDP, is the world's richest country by GDP per capita.
India takes the top spot. Its $39.7bn debt towards the WB recorded at the end of 2021 is double that of the next biggest debtor, Indonesia, with $19.6bn.
