[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-565439-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":81,"doc-detail-565439-en":127},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","foreign-holdings-of-federal-debt-updated-june-18-2024","Foreign Holdings of Federal Debt - Updated June 18, 2024","","Foreign Holdings of Federal Debt summarizes current ownership of U.S. Treasury securities and highlights major foreign holders of federal debt by country. It explains how gross federal debt is split between debt held by the public and intragovernmental debt, and how Treasury securities are sold to investors. Key figures include rising Treasury securities outstanding through December 2023, growth in foreign holdings, and foreign shares of publicly held debt, along with official versus private ownership.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/","Template",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/general/","General",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/foreign-holdings-of-federal-debt-updated-june-18-2024/565439/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/foreign-holdings-of-federal-debt-updated-june-18-2024/565439.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Jasmine","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-27","2026-10-13",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",10,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"How is U.S. federal debt divided for analysis in this report?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Gross federal debt is composed of debt held by the public and intragovernmental debt held by federal trust funds. The economic analysis emphasizes debt held by the public because it has been sold in credit markets and affects interest rates and private investment decisions.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What happened to foreign holdings of U.S. federal debt from 2019 to 2023?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Foreign holdings increased overall from roughly $16.6 trillion Treasury securities outstanding in December 2019 to about $26.2 trillion by December 2023. Foreign holdings of debt rose by about $1.1 trillion to approximately $8.1 trillion, with foreign holdings rising during 2019–2021, falling in 2022, and jumping in 2023.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Who are the largest foreign holders by country as of December 2023?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The top three estimated foreign holders of federal debt by country are Japan (about $1.1 trillion), China (about $0.8 trillion), and the United Kingdom (about $0.7 trillion). Their shares of all foreign investment in U.S. publicly held federal debt are roughly 14.3%, 10.3%, and 8.5%, respectively.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},565439,1792109142,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,89,94,99,104,109,114,119,124],{"id":85,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":86,"show_sort_weight":87,"slug":88},11,"Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":90,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":91,"show_sort_weight":92,"slug":93},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":95,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":100,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":105,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":110,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":115,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":120,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":122,"slug":123},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":125,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":126},158,"general-158",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":128},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":129,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":130,"doc_module":22,"category_id":125,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":131,"file_id":132,"file_url":133,"file_type":134,"file_size":135,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":90,"language":136,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":140,"read_time":33},2336478487870,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45","Foreign Holdings of Federal Debt  \nUpdated June 18, 2024  \nCongressional Research Service  \n[https://crsreports.congress.gov](https://crsreports.congress.gov)[ ](https://crsreports.congress.gov)RS22331  \nSummary  \nThis report presents current data on ownership of U.S. Treasury securities and major holders of federal debt by country. Federal debt represents the accumulated balance of borrowing by the federal government. The gross debt is composed of debt held by the public and intragovernmental debt held by federal trust funds. To finance the publicly held debt, U.S. Treasury securities are sold to investors. Treasury securities may be purchased directly from the Treasury or on the secondary market by individual private investors; the Federal Reserve; financial institutions in the United States or overseas; and foreign, state, or local governments.  \nAs of December 2023, there was $26.2 trillion of Treasury securities outstanding, up from $16.6 trillion in December 2019, a $9.6 trillion increase (figures are rounded). During the same period, foreign holdings of debt increased by $1.1 trillion to a total of approximately $8.1 trillion. After staying relatively flat in dollar terms for several years, overall foreign holdings increased in 2019- 2021, fell in 2022, then jumped in 2023 . Because the total debt has increased faster than the debt held by foreigners, the share of federal debt held by foreigners has declined in recent years. In December 2023, foreigners held 31% of the publicly held debt. Interest on the debt paid to foreigners in 2023 was $197.5 billion.  \nForeign holdings can be divided into official (governmental investment) and private sources: 47.7%($3.8 trillion) of foreign holdings in U.S. federal debt are held by governmental sources, and private investors hold the other 52.3%($4.2 trillion) .  \nIncluding private investors and governments, the top three estimated foreign holders of federal debt by country, as of December 2023, are Japan ($1.1 trillion), China ($0.8 trillion), and the United Kingdom ($0.7 trillion) . Based on these estimates, Japan holds approximately 14.3% of all foreign investment in U.S. publicly held federal debt, China holds approximately 10.3%, and the United Kingdom holds approximately 8.5% .  \nFrom an economic perspective, foreign holdings of federal debt can be viewed in the broader context of U.S. savings, investment, and borrowing from abroad. For decades, the United States has saved less than it invests. Domestic saving is composed of saving by U.S. households, businesses, and governments. By accounting identity, when the government runs budget deficits, it reduces domestic saving. By the same accounting identity, the shortfall between U.S. saving and physical investment is met by borrowing from abroad. To be a net borrower from abroad, the United States must run a trade deficit (i.e., it must buy more imports from foreigners than it sells in exports to foreigners). Borrowing from abroad has occurred through foreign purchases of both U.S. government and U.S. private securities and other assets.  \nAs a result of foreign purchases of Treasury securities, the federal government must send U.S. income abroad to foreigners. If the overall economy is larger as a result of federal borrowing (because the borrowing stimulated economic recovery or was used to productively add to the U.S. capital stock, for example), then this outcome may leave the United States better off overall on net despite the transfer of income abroad. In other words, without foreign borrowing, U.S. income would be lower than it currently is net of foreign interest payments in this scenario.  \nContents  \nSelected Statistics on Foreign Holdings of Federal Debt ................................................................ 1  \nForeign Investment in U.S. Federal Debt: Why Is It an Issue of Concern? .................................... 5  \nFigures  \nFigure 1. Foreign and Domestic Holdings of Treasury Securities (1945-2023) .","cbCaipx4YAxVUGqG","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipx4YAxVUGqG","pdf",850817,"English","# Summary\n# Selected Statistics on Foreign Holdings of Federal Debt\n## Federal debt overview and debt measures\n## Public holdings and marketable Treasury securities\n# Contents\n## Selected Statistics on Foreign Holdings of Federal Debt\n## Foreign Investment in U.S. Federal Debt: Why Is It an Issue of Concern?","[{\"question\":\"How is U.S. federal debt divided for analysis in this report?\",\"answer\":\"Gross federal debt is composed of debt held by the public and intragovernmental debt held by federal trust funds. The economic analysis emphasizes debt held by the public because it has been sold in credit markets and affects interest rates and private investment decisions.\"},{\"question\":\"What happened to foreign holdings of U.S. federal debt from 2019 to 2023?\",\"answer\":\"Foreign holdings increased overall from roughly $16.6 trillion Treasury securities outstanding in December 2019 to about $26.2 trillion by December 2023. Foreign holdings of debt rose by about $1.1 trillion to approximately $8.1 trillion, with foreign holdings rising during 2019–2021, falling in 2022, and jumping in 2023.\"},{\"question\":\"Who are the largest foreign holders by country as of December 2023?\",\"answer\":\"The top three estimated foreign holders of federal debt by country are Japan (about $1.1 trillion), China (about $0.8 trillion), and the United Kingdom (about $0.7 trillion). Their shares of all foreign investment in U.S. publicly held federal debt are roughly 14.3%, 10.3%, and 8.5%, respectively.\"}]","Foreign Holdings of Federal Debt - Updated June 18, 2024 | PDF",1791853809]