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

FAQs

Who are the major foreign holders of the United States Treasury securities? ›

The three largest holders of Treasuries -- Japan, China and the UK -- led the purchase U.S. government debt. Japanese investors raised their stash of Treasuries to $1.138 trillion in December, from $1.127 trillion in November, data showed. Their holdings were the largest since August 2022.

Foreign holders of United States treasury debt

Of the total held by foreign countries, Japan and Mainland China held the greatest portions, with China holding 797.7 billion U.S. dollars in U.S. securities. Other foreign holders included oil exporting countries and Caribbean banking centers.

Japan, the largest non-U.S. holder of Treasuries, increased its U.S. government debt to $1.167 trillion, the largest since August 2022 when the country's holdings were at $1.196 trillion.

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.

China owns around 2.6% of U.S. debt, which it buys because the Chinese yuan is pegged to the dollar. It would be impossible for China to call in all its U.S. debt at once, given the different maturity dates of the U.S. securities that China owns. United States Department of Treasury.

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.

How much US debt do foreign countries own? As of January 2023, foreign countries own $7.4 trillion in Treasurys — or roughly 24% of total US debt. Over the past two decades, central banks and other government entities have owned 50-75% of foreign-owned debt. Independent investors and companies held the rest.

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.

What country has the highest debt? ›

At the top is Japan, whose national debt has remained above 100% of its GDP for two decades, reaching 255% in 2023.

Russia divested from all US bond instruments, the only debts the Federal government has, and still owes the US and other investors nearly 300 billion US Dollars. The national debt in Russia was forecast to increase between 2023 and 2028 by in total 16.1 billion U.S.

[2] A report by the credit rating agency S&P Global in 2022 estimated that 79 per cent of corporate debt in China was owed by SOEs (the IMF does not break down the proportion of debt owed by SOEs).

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.

Overseas investors sold a net $2.4 billion in long-term Treasurys in September, bringing their holdings to $6.5 trillion, according to data from the U.S. Treasury released Thursday.

China has been divesting itself of U.S. debt for several years. The country's Treasury holdings have fallen to their current level from around $1.1 trillion in 2021. Chinese investment in U.S. debt hit a 14-year low in October.