Who is the largest holder of US government bonds?
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.
Public debt is held by the public: individual investors, institutions, foreign governments. After intragovernmental holdings, the next largest category is national debt held by foreign governments. Of those, Japan has the most, followed by China.
With $1.1 trillion in Treasury holdings, Japan is the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt.
The greatest amount of U.S. debt is owned by the U.S. government, while the largest foreign creditor is Japan. China owns around 2.6% of U.S. debt, which it buys because the Chinese yuan is pegged to the dollar.
Among other countries, Japan and China have continued to be the top owners of US debt during the last two decades. Since the dollar is a strong currency that is accepted globally, holding a substantial amount of US debt can be beneficial.
The Bureau of the Fiscal Service, administers the public debt by issuing and servicing U.S. Treasury marketable, savings and special securities.
The US has the largest bond market in the world, valued at over $51 trillion, according to estimates from the Bank for International Settlements. Commercial banks are among the top buyers of US government debt.
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 sells the most US assets in 4 years, dumping $21 billion of US stock and Treasury bonds. Chinese investors sold $21.2 billion in US equities and Treasuries, the US Treasury said Wednesday.
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.
How much farmland does China own in the United States?
According to a 2021 report by the Department of Agriculture, China owns 384,000 acres of American agricultural land; ownership which jumped by 30% from 2019 to 2020.
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.
In the latest reports, Russia National Government Debt reached 285.4 USD bn in Dec 2023. The country's Nominal GDP reached 494.7 USD bn in Mar 2023.
| Characteristic | National debt in relation to GDP |
|---|---|
| Macao SAR | 0% |
| Brunei Darussalam | 2.06% |
| Kuwait | 3.08% |
| Hong Kong SAR | 4.27% |
- 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%
The case of debts arising from World War II is somewhat less complicated. At this time only four countries, discussed below, owe the U.S. government debts of any size arising from World War II programs to aid our allies. Other countries have paid their debts in full.
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.
The Federal Reserve, as America's central bank, is responsible for controlling the supply of U.S. dollars. The Fed creates money by purchasing securities on the open market and adding the corresponding funds to the bank reserves of commercial banks.
TreasuryDirect is a website run by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service under the United States Department of the Treasury that allows US individual investors to purchase treasury securities, such as savings bonds, directly from the US government.
And about a third, or 30%, of the publicly held national debt is owned by foreign countries and foreign investors. The biggest foreign holder of U.S. debt is Japan, followed by China.
Who owns US corporate debt?
Since 1945, US corporate bonds have been held primarily through institutional investors rather than directly by households, and insurers have accounted for the largest share of institutional ownership.
| Name | Ticker | Yield |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Year Treasury Note | (ICE:^TNX) | 4.2% |
| I Savings Bonds | N/A | 5.3% |
| iShares TIPS Bond ETF | (NYSEMKT:TIP) | 5.7% |
| Nuveen High-Yield Municipal Bond Fund | (NASDAQ:NHRMX) | 5.0% |
The value of U.S. Treasury securities held by residents of Russia amounted to 33 million U.S. dollars in June 2023, the lowest over the period under consideration. Furthermore, in March 2020, the figure decreased sharply to 3.85 billion U.S. dollars, down from 12.6 billion U.S. dollars one month prior.
[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).
So, if the bond market declines or crashes, your investment account will likely feel it in some way. This can be especially concerning for investors with portfolios heavily weighted toward bonds, such as those in or near retirement.
