Does the US owe money to itself?
In short, some of the $22 trillion in total debt is intragovernmental holdings—money the government owes itself. Of the total national debt, $5.8 trillion is intragovernmental holdings and the remaining $16.2 trillion is debt held by the public.
U.S. debt, which is the amount of money the federal government borrows to cover operating expenses, now stands at nearly $34.4 trillion, as of Wednesday. Bank of America investment strategist Michael Hartnett believes the 100-day pattern will remain intact with the move from $34 trillion to $35 trillion.
The US government owes money to governments, central banks, companies, and individual investors around the world. As reported by the US Department of the Treasury, the US owes a total of $7.4 trillion in Treasury securities to foreign countries.
Decreased savings and income
The private sector will stop seeking investments that can generate growth due to the incentive to save. This includes the lower amount of capital available once individuals stop investing in securities offered by businesses due to treasury securities being more attractive.
Who owns this debt? The public owes 74 percent of the current federal debt. Intragovernmental debt accounts for 26 percent or $5.9 trillion. The public includes foreign investors and foreign governments.
The Treasury owes this part of the debt to other federal agencies. Intragovernmental holdings totaled more than $6.89 trillion in January 2023. 1 Why would the government owe money to itself? Because some agencies, like the Social Security Trust Fund, take in more revenue from taxes than they need.
Singapore is one of Asia's major financial centers. 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.
At the top is Japan, whose national debt has remained above 100% of its GDP for two decades, reaching 255% in 2023.
It began rising at a fast rate in the 1980's and was accelerated through events like the Iraq Wars and the 2008 Great Recession. Most recently, the debt made another big jump thanks to the pandemic with the federal government spending significantly more than it took in to keep the country running.
China owes the United States $1.3 trillion, which is the most debt out of all the countries that are its debtors. Japan was the primary debt holder until 2008, but now comes in second place, with $1.2 trillion. Other countries with outstanding U.S. debt include Russia, India and South Korea.
Who does the US owe trillions to?
Japan owns the most at $1.1 trillion, followed by China, with $859 billion, and the United Kingdom at $668 billion.
As a result, totals from January 2023 are lower than reported. 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).
- Bonds. Using Debt to Pay Debt. ...
- Interest Rates. Maintaining interest rates at low levels can help stimulate the economy, generate tax revenue, and, ultimately, reduce the national debt. ...
- Spending Cuts. From 1921 to 1974, the President led the government budgeting process. ...
- Raising Taxes. ...
- Bailout or Default.
China is one of the United States's largest creditors, owning about $859.4 billion in U.S. debt. 1 However, it does not own the most U.S. debt of any foreign country. Nations borrowing from each other may be as old as the concept of money.
Composition of Debt: A significant portion of Japan's national debt is held domestically, primarily by Japanese citizens and institutions. This reduces the country's vulnerability to external economic shocks and allows the government to continue borrowing at relatively low interest rates.
If China “dumped” USA treasuries, they would take a serious monetary loss. The price of the treasuries would drop, effective raising the return for those who bought the bonds.
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.
U.S. debt to China comes in the form of U.S. Treasuries, largely due to their safety and stability. Although there are worries about China selling off U.S. debt, which would hamper economic growth, doing so in large amounts poses risks for China as well, making it unlikely to happen.
Unfortunately to maintain growth, US need to spend, albeit deficit spending, continue to issue more debts for deficit spending. Therefore need to borrow from China. Worst with current high interest rates, interest payment of close to a trillion a year had gobbled up available fund for investment and development.
Russia National Government Debt reached 281.6 USD bn in Feb 2024, compared with 287.8 USD bn in the previous month. Russia National Government Debt data is updated monthly, available from May 2009 to Feb 2024. The data reached an all-time high of 384.2 USD bn in Jun 2022 and a record low of 86.1 USD bn in May 2009.
Why is every country in debt?
Just about every country has debt: governments take loans to pay for new roads and hospitals, to keep economies ticking over when recessions hit or tax revenues fall. Sometimes they borrow from countries, other times banks, or maybe asset managers—companies like those investing your pension dollars.
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.
- Japan. $1,098.2. 14.52%
- China. $769.6. 10.17%
- United Kingdom. $693. 9.16%
- Luxembourg. $345.4. 4.57%
- Cayman Islands. $323.8. 4.28%
- Sierra Leone. Debt-to-GDP Ratio (2024): 82.6. ...
- The Bahamas. Debt-to-GDP Ratio (2024): 83.7. ...
- China. Debt-to-GDP Ratio (2024): 87.4. ...
- Egypt. Debt-to-GDP Ratio (2024): 88.1. ...
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Debt-to-GDP Ratio (2024): 89.2. ...
- Brazil. ...
- Republic of Congo. ...
- Dominica.
Among advanced economies, debt as a percentage of GDP increased from around 75 percent to more than 80 percent. As of 2023, the United States' debt-to-GDP ratio is among the highest in the developed world, behind only Japan and Italy.