Which Foreign Governments OWN the most U.S. Debt?

[Warph]

An Overview of the United States National Debt
The Current Outstanding Public Debt of the United States is:

$14,344,706,437,041.50
(Last Updated: Sunday, June 5th, 2011 - updated daily)

Every man, woman and child in the United States currently owes $47,214 for their share of the U.S. public debt

Public Debt: $9,735,616,790,661.91
Intragovernmental Holdings: $4,609,089,646,379.59
Total U.S. National Debt: $14,344,706,437,041.50

Which Foreign governments own the most U.S. debt?
Answer: Here is the Top 10 (as of May/2011)

1. China, Mainland, $1144.9 billion dollars
2. Japan, $907.9 billion dollars
3. United Kingdom, $325.2 billion dollars
4. Oil Exporters*, $222.3 billion dollars
5. All Other, $199.1 billion dollars
6. Brazil, $193.5 billion dollars
7. Taiwan, $156.1 billion dollars
8. Carib Bnkng Ctrs**, $154.8 billion dollars
9. Russia, $127.8 billion dollars
10. Hong Kong, $122.1 billion dollars
*Includes oil exporting countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran

**includes countries such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands

Of the $4.3 trillion dollars of US debt that is owned by foreign governments, China and Japan own nearly half, as evidenced by this chart:
China, Japan & Total Foreign:
China = 21.9%
Japan = 20.40%
Rest of the World = 58.51%

Growth of US Debt Over Past 50 Years:
Current: $14,344,706,437,041.50
2004: $7,379,052,696,330.32
1999: $5,656,270,901,615.43
1994: $4,692,749,910,013.32
1989: $2,857,430,960,187.32
1984: $1,572,266,000,000.00
1979: $826,519,000,000.00
1974: $475,059,815,731.55
1969: $353,720,253,841.41
1964: $311,712,899,257.30
1959: $284,705,907,078.22

[Warph]

National Debt Balance of the United States, from 1791 until the end of the 2010 fiscal year.

Historical End of Fiscal Year US Debt Balances 1791-2010


Year Nominal Dollars Real Dollars (2010)
1791 $75,463,477 $1,754,964,581
1792 $77,227,925 $1,755,180,114
1793 $80,358,634 $1,785,747,422
1794 $78,427,405 $1,568,548,100
1795 $80,747,587 $1,392,199,776
1796 $83,762,172 $1,373,150,361
1797 $82,064,479 $1,414,904,810
1798 $79,228,529 $1,414,795,161
1799 $78,408,670 $1,400,154,821
1800 $82,976,294 $1,430,625,759
1801 $83,038,051 $1,431,690,534
1802 $80,712,632 $1,647,196,571
1803 $77,054,686 $1,481,820,885
1804 $86,427,121 $1,600,502,241
1805 $82,312,151 $1,524,299,093
1806 $75,723,271 $1,352,201,268
1807 $69,218,399 $1,306,007,528
1808 $65,196,318 $1,124,074,448
1809 $57,023,192 $1,018,271,286
1810 $53,173,218 $949,521,750
1811 $48,005,588 $800,093,133
1812 $45,209,738 $741,143,246
1813 $55,962,828 $766,614,082
1814 $81,487,846 $1,006,022,790
1815 $99,833,660 $1,406,107,887
1816 $127,334,934 $1,958,998,985
1817 $123,491,965 $2,024,458,443
1818 $103,466,634 $1,783,907,483
1819 $95,529,648 $1,647,062,897
1820 $91,015,566 $1,685,473,444
1821 $89,987,428 $1,730,527,462
1822 $93,546,677 $1,732,345,870
1823 $90,875,877 $1,893,247,438
1824 $90,269,778 $2,051,585,864
1825 $83,788,433 $1,861,965,178
1826 $81,054,060 $1,801,201,333
1827 $73,987,357 $1,608,420,804
1828 $67,475,044 $1,533,523,727
1829 $58,421,414 $1,358,637,535
1830 $48,565,407 $1,156,319,214
1831 $39,123,192 $978,079,800
1832 $24,322,235 $623,647,051
1833 $7,001,699 $179,530,744
1834 $4,760,082 $122,053,385
1835 $33,733 $843,325
1836 $37,513 $872,395
1837 $336,958 $7,658,136
1838 $3,308,124 $76,933,116
1839 $10,434,221 $242,656,302
1840 $3,573,344 $89,333,600
1841 $5,250,876 $131,271,900
1842 $13,594,481 $357,749,500
1843 $20,201,226 $594,153,706
1843 $32,742,922 $963,027,118
1844 $23,461,653 $690,048,618
1845 $15,925,303 $455,008,657
1846 $15,550,203 $444,291,514
1847 $38,826,535 $1,021,750,921
1848 $47,044,862 $1,306,801,722
1849 $63,061,859 $1,801,767,400
1850 $63,452,774 $1,762,577,056
1851 $68,304,796 $1,951,565,600
1852 $66,199,342 $1,891,409,771
1853 $59,803,118 $1,708,660,514
1854 $42,242,222 $1,083,133,897
1855 $35,586,957 $889,673,925
1856 $31,972,538 $819,808,667
1857 $28,699,832 $717,495,800
1858 $44,911,881 $1,181,891,605
1859 $58,496,838 $1,539,390,474
1860 $64,842,288 $1,706,376,000
1861 $90,580,874 $2,264,521,850
1862 $524,176,412 $11,395,139,391
1863 $1,119,772,139 $19,306,416,190
1864 $1,815,784,371 $25,219,227,375
1865 $2,680,647,870 $35,741,971,600
1866 $2,773,236,174 $37,989,536,630
1867 $2,678,126,104 $39,384,207,412
1868 $2,611,687,851 $40,179,813,092
1869 $2,588,452,214 $41,749,229,258
1870 $2,480,672,428 $41,344,540,467
1871 $2,353,211,332 $42,021,630,929
1872 $2,253,251,329 $40,236,630,875
1873 $2,234,482,993 $40,626,963,509
1874 $2,251,690,468 $43,301,739,769
1875 $2,232,284,532 $44,645,690,640
1876 $2,180,395,067 $44,497,858,510
1877 $2,205,301,392 $45,943,779,000
1878 $2,256,205,893 $49,047,954,196
1879 $2,349,567,482 $51,077,553,957
1880 $2,120,415,371 $45,115,220,660
1881 $2,069,013,570 $44,021,565,319
1882 $1,918,312,994 $40,815,170,085
1883 $1,884,171,728 $40,960,254,957
1884 $1,830,528,924 $40,678,420,533
1885 $1,863,964,873 $42,362,838,023
1886 $1,775,063,014 $41,280,535,209
1887 $1,657,602,593 $37,672,786,205
1888 $1,692,858,985 $38,474,067,841
1889 $1,619,052,922 $38,548,879,095
1890 $1,552,140,205 $36,955,719,167
1891 $1,545,996,592 $36,809,442,667
1892 $1,588,464,145 $37,820,574,881
1893 $1,545,985,686 $37,706,967,951
1894 $1,632,253,637 $41,852,657,359
1895 $1,676,120,983 $42,977,461,103
1896 $1,769,840,323 $45,380,521,103
1897 $1,817,672,666 $47,833,491,211
1898 $1,796,531,996 $47,277,157,789
1899 $1,991,927,307 $52,419,139,658
1900 $2,136,961,092 $54,793,874,154
1901 $2,143,326,934 $54,957,100,872
1902 $2,158,610,446 $55,348,985,795
1903 $2,202,464,782 $55,061,619,550
1904 $2,264,003,585 $55,219,599,634
1905 $2,274,615,064 $56,865,376,600
1906 $2,337,161,839 $57,003,947,293
1907 $2,457,188,062 $57,143,908,419
1908 $2,626,806,272 $62,543,006,476
1909 $2,639,546,241 $62,846,339,071
1910 $2,652,665,838 $60,287,859,955
1911 $2,765,600,607 $62,854,559,250
1912 $2,868,373,874 $65,190,315,318
1913 $2,916,204,914 $64,804,553,644
1914 $2,912,499,269 $63,315,201,500
1915 $3,058,136,873 $66,481,236,370
1916 $3,609,244,262 $72,184,885,240
1917 $5,717,770,280 $96,911,360,678
1918 $14,592,161,414 $211,480,600,203
1919 $27,390,970,113 $346,721,140,671
1920 $25,952,456,406 $282,091,917,457
1921 $23,977,450,553 $292,407,933,573
1922 $22,963,381,708 $298,225,736,468
1923 $22,349,707,365 $286,534,709,808
1924 $21,250,812,989 $272,446,320,372
1925 $20,516,193,888 $256,452,423,600
1926 $19,643,216,315 $242,508,843,395
1927 $18,511,906,932 $231,398,836,650
1928 $17,604,293,201 $225,696,066,679
1929 $16,931,088,484 $217,065,236,974
1930 $16,185,309,831 $210,198,828,974
1931 $16,801,281,492 $240,018,307,029
1932 $19,487,002,444 $309,317,499,111
1933 $22,538,672,560 $375,644,542,667
1934 $27,053,141,414 $443,494,121,541
1935 $28,700,892,625 $455,569,724,206
1936 $33,778,543,494 $527,789,742,094
1937 $36,424,613,732 $551,888,086,848
1938 $37,164,740,315 $571,765,235,615
1939 $40,439,532,411 $631,867,693,922
1940 $42,967,531,038 $671,367,672,469
1941 $48,961,443,536 $730,767,813,970
1942 $72,422,445,116 $965,632,601,547
1943 $136,696,090,330 $1,730,330,257,342
1944 $201,003,387,221 $2,481,523,299,025
1945 $258,682,187,410 $3,116,652,860,361
1946 $269,422,099,173 $3,027,214,597,449
1947 $258,286,383,109 $2,532,219,442,245
1948 $252,292,246,513 $2,272,903,121,739
1949 $252,770,359,860 $2,318,994,127,156
1950 $257,357,352,351 $2,318,534,705,865
1951 $255,221,976,815 $2,144,722,494,244
1952 $259,105,178,785 $2,123,812,940,861
1953 $266,071,061,639 $2,180,910,341,303
1954 $271,259,599,108 $2,205,362,594,374
1955 $274,374,222,803 $2,230,684,738,236
1956 $272,750,813,649 $2,182,006,509,192
1957 $270,527,171,896 $2,097,109,859,659
1958 $276,343,217,746 $2,077,768,554,481
1959 $284,705,907,078 $2,140,645,917,880
1960 $286,330,760,848 $2,105,373,241,529
1961 $288,970,938,610 $2,109,276,924,161
1962 $298,200,822,721 $2,145,329,659,863
1963 $305,859,632,996 $2,184,711,664,257
1964 $311,712,899,257 $2,195,161,262,373
1965 $317,273,898,984 $2,203,290,965,167
1966 $319,907,087,795 $2,147,027,434,866
1967 $326,220,937,795 $2,132,162,992,124
1968 $347,578,406,426 $2,172,365,040,163
1969 $353,720,253,841 $2,105,477,701,435
1970 $370,918,706,950 $2,083,812,960,393
1971 $398,129,744,456 $2,140,482,497,075
1972 $427,260,460,941 $2,225,314,900,734
1973 $458,141,605,312 $2,245,792,182,902
1974 $475,059,815,732 $2,102,034,582,885
1975 $533,189,000,000 $2,158,659,919,028
1976 $620,433,000,000 $2,377,137,931,034
1977 $698,840,000,000 $2,513,812,949,640
1978 $771,544,000,000 $2,580,414,715,719
1979 $826,519,000,000 $2,482,039,039,039
1980 $907,701,000,000 $2,401,325,396,825
1981 $997,855,000,000 $2,392,937,649,880
1982 $1,142,034,000,000 $2,577,954,853,273
1983 $1,377,210,000,000 $3,013,588,621,444
1984 $1,572,266,000,000 $3,296,155,136,268
1985 $1,823,103,000,000 $3,690,491,902,834
1986 $2,125,302,616,660 $4,225,253,711,054
1987 $2,350,276,890,950 $4,511,088,082,438
1988 $2,602,337,712,040 $4,792,518,806,703
1989 $2,857,430,960,190 $5,021,847,030,211
1990 $3,233,313,451,780 $5,388,855,752,967
1991 $3,665,303,351,700 $5,864,485,362,720
1992 $4,064,620,655,520 $6,311,522,757,019
1993 $4,411,488,883,140 $6,653,829,386,335
1994 $4,692,749,910,010 $6,901,102,808,838
1995 $4,973,982,900,710 $7,115,855,365,823
1996 $5,224,810,939,140 $7,256,681,859,917
1997 $5,413,146,011,400 $7,354,817,950,272
1998 $5,526,193,008,900 $7,387,958,568,048
1999 $5,656,270,901,620 $7,403,495,944,529
2000 $5,674,178,209,890 $7,182,504,063,152
2001 $5,807,463,412,200 $7,152,048,537,192
2002 $6,228,235,965,600 $7,549,376,928,000
2003 $6,783,231,062,740 $8,037,003,628,839
2004 $7,379,052,696,330 $8,511,018,104,187
2005 $7,932,709,661,720 $8,853,470,604,598
2006 $8,506,973,899,220 $9,196,728,539,697
2007 $9,007,653,372,260 $9,471,770,107,529
2008 $10,024,724,896,900 $10,146,482,689,170
2009 $11,909,829,003,500 $12,103,484,759,654
2010 $13,561,623,030,900 $13,561,623,030,900
2011 $14,344,706,437,042

[Warph]

Largest Foreign Holders of US Debt

The most recent numbers available from the Treasury Department are from: Mar/2011


Country Holdings Month Over Month Change YoY

China, Mainland  $1144.9 Billion  -0.8% +27.18%
Japan $907.9 Billion  +1.98% +14.37%
United Kingdom $325.2 Billion  +10.05% +1.28%
Oil Exporters $222.3 Billion  +1.6% -4.55%
All Other $199.1 Billion  +1.12% +18.44%
Brazil $193.5 Billion  -0.41% +17.7%
Taiwan $156.1 Billion  +0.13% +23.01%
Carib Bnkng Ctrs $154.8 Billion  -8.62% +1.04%
Russia $127.8 Billion  -2.07% +13%
Hong Kong $122.1 Billion  -2.01% -19.57%
Switzerland $111.6 Billion  +1.09% +39.5%
Canada $93.3 Billion  +0.43% +13.92%
Luxembourg $81.1 Billion  +0.12% +5.46%
Germany $59.8 Billion  +2.57% +9.12%
Thailand $57.1 Billion  -0.87% +21.75%
Singapore $55.7 Billion  -16.49% +31.37%
Ireland $44.0 Billion  +4.76% -3.72%
India $39.8 Billion  -1.24% +28.39%
Turkey $36.2 Billion  +5.54% +29.75%
Korea, South $32.5 Billion  +4.17% -16.02%
Belgium $32.2 Billion  +0.63% +74.05%
Poland $28.4 Billion  +4.03% +15.45%
Mexico $28.1 Billion  -18.79% -15.11%
Netherlands $25.1 Billion  +0.8% +28.06%
Italy $24.2 Billion  -0.41% +19.21%
Philippines $23.4 Billion  +3.08% +56%
Norway $21.4 Billion  +2.88% +42.67%
Sweden $21.3 Billion  +20.34% +39.22%
Colombia $20.2 Billion  +0.5% +28.66%
Israel $18.9 Billion  -4.55% -5.03%
France $17.7 Billion  -41.39% -56.4%
Chile $16.7 Billion  +4.37% +39.17%
Egypt $15.3 Billion  +2.68% -27.49%
Malaysia $11.2 Billion  -0.88% +2.75%
Australia $10.3 Billion  -18.25% -42.46%


Notes:
United Kingdom Includes Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

Oil exporters include Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria.

Caribbean Banking Centers include Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Netherlands Antilles and Panama.


Source: Treasury.gov - Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities

[Wilma]

And how much is owed to the U.S. or has all that been repaid?

[Warph]

And how much is owed to the U.S. or has all that been repaid?

That $14 trillion is the NET amount the US owes... in other words the US owes $14 trillion MORE to other countries than other countries OWE to the US.

How can the U.S. pay back the Trillion$ we have borrowed from them, you ask??  The answer is that up until now foreign investors and nations have been content with our ability to pay interest on the debt we owe them in the form of Treasury Bonds.  Debt interest payments are a large and increasing portion of the federal budget that we all pay taxes to support.
Recently these nations have begun questioning our ability to repay our debts over the long term.  If our creditors lose faith in our ability to repay, it will cost the U.S. more to borrow, the same way that it costs more to borrow to buy a car with bad credit than with good.

Because the U.S. dollar is no longer exchangeable for gold or silver, the U.S. is free to print as many dollars as it see fits to pay it's bills.  This is Inflation, and it is how debtor nations of the past have repaid their bills: with increasingly worthless currency.  It has always in the past had an unhappy ending.  CNBC took out a poll and there was suggestion of selling our national parks and monuments to pay down our debt to China.

[Roma Jean Turner]

OMG what a horrific idea.  I suppose then China could use that land for it's natural resources and charge us to buy the resources from them even though we can't use the resources while we own it.  (What a sentence.  What a screwed up potential reality)"

[Diane Amberg]

China is already buying up huge tracts in Africa to grow food.