Major foreign holders treasury securities U.S. 2023 | Statista (2024)

FAQs

Who are the largest foreign holders of US Treasury securities? ›

The three largest holders of Treasuries -- Japan, China and the UK -- led the purchase U.S. government debt.

U.S. treasury securities major foreign holders 2024

As of January 2024, Japan held United States treasury securities totaling about 1.15 trillion U.S. dollars.

All values are adjusted to 2023 dollars. 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).

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.

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.

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.

In February, China remained the second largest holder of US government debt. However, China's holding of US government debt has been below the $1 trillion mark since April 2022. In January 2024, China trimmed holdings of US treasuries by $18.6 billion.

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.

What country does the US owe the most money to? ›

Who does the United States owe the most debt to? As of July 2020, Japan overtook China and became the largest foreign debt collector for the U.S.

Selling Treasurys is a fast way to whip up U.S. dollars, and China will sometimes use extra dollars to go out on the global market and buy up their own currency. That artificially pumps up its value. It's like planting someone at an auction to drive up your prices.

Still, Chinese-owned land accounts for a tiny share of foreign-owned land in the United States. Chinese firms and investors own just over 383,934 acres in the U.S., less than the state of Rhode Island, and far less than how much Canada, Netherlands, Italy, the U.K. and Germany, in that order, each own.

1) Switzerland

Switzerland is a country that, in practically all economic and social metrics, is an example to follow. With a population of almost 9 million people, Switzerland has no natural resources of its own, no access to the sea, and virtually no public debt.

Among them 1) Foreign investment i s still tiny in terms of the entire U.S. economy Foreigners own 5 percent of all U.S. assets and 6.2 percent of stock. While this is of economic benefit to the U.S it is still not so much that foreigners can call the shots in America.

In February, China remained the second largest holder of US government debt. However, China's holding of US government debt has been below the $1 trillion mark since April 2022. In January 2024, China trimmed holdings of US treasuries by $18.6 billion.

The foreign direct investment in the United States position increased $216.8 billion to $5.25 trillion at the end of 2022 from $5.04 trillion at the end of 2021. The increase mainly reflected a $142.2 billion increase in the position from Europe, with the largest increases from the United Kingdom and Germany.

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.