Holders of Treasury securities
Who owns the U.S. national debt?
Most of the national debt is owed to Americans — to federal trust funds and to domestic investors. Foreign investors and governments hold about 23%. Here is the breakdown, with each figure’s date shown.
Ownership breakdown
- U.S. investors and institutions$23.3 trillion · 57.5%Federal Reserve, banks, mutual funds, pensions, insurers, state and local governments, individuals
- Foreign investors and governments$9.33 trillion · 23.1%TIC estimate for August 2026
- Federal trust funds and accounts$7.85 trillion · 19.4%Intragovernmental holdings: Social Security, Medicare, federal retirement
Total, public and intragovernmental figures: Debt to the Penny, 22 October 2026. Foreign total: TIC, August 2026; U.S. investors are the remainder of debt held by the public. Figures from different dates are combined, so treat shares as approximate.
Foreign holders by country
| # | Country | Holdings | Change vs August 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | $1.07T | −$116B |
| 2 | United Kingdom | $1.01T | +$108B |
| 3 | China, Mainland | $591B | −$109B |
| 4 | Belgium | $491B | +$39.4B |
| 5 | Canada | $465B | +$20.6B |
| 6 | Cayman Islands | $463B | +$52.5B |
| 7 | Luxembourg | $448B | +$37.4B |
| 8 | France | $363B | −$25.7B |
| 9 | Ireland | $352B | +$12.1B |
| 10 | Taiwan | $298B | −$15.0B |
| 11 | Switzerland | $286B | −$17.2B |
| 12 | Singapore | $278B | +$16.9B |
| 13 | Hong Kong | $262B | +$9.60B |
| 14 | India | $220B | +$300M |
| 15 | Norway | $214B | −$900M |
| 16 | Brazil | $168B | −$16.2B |
| 17 | Saudi Arabia | $141B | +$8.20B |
| 18 | Korea, South | $134B | −$1.60B |
| 19 | United Arab Emirates | $116B | +$7.40B |
| 20 | Bermuda | $112B | +$12.9B |
| All other countries | $1.85T | +$58.0B |
Source: U.S. Treasury, TIC Table 5, Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities, end of August 2026. Published monthly with about a seven-week lag.
Custody is not ownership
TIC figures are collected mostly from U.S. custodians and broker-dealers. Securities held through an account in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands or the United Kingdom are attributed to that country even when the investor is somewhere else. That is why financial centers rank higher than the size of their economies would suggest, and why a country’s reported holdings can shift when its central bank changes custodians.
The biggest single holder is domestic. The Federal Reserve holds trillions of dollars of Treasury securities as part of monetary policy; those holdings sit inside “U.S. investors and institutions” above. Interest the Fed earns on them, after its expenses, is largely remitted to the Treasury.
Debt held by the public versus intragovernmental
Debt held by the public ($32.6 trillion) is what the government has borrowed in credit markets. Economists usually use it to judge the debt’s economic weight because it competes for private savings. Intragovernmental holdings ($7.85 trillion) are securities that federal trust funds hold after lending their surpluses to the Treasury. They are obligations of the government to itself, but they still have to be honored when the trust funds redeem them to pay benefits.
Our clock uses the sum of both — total public debt outstanding — because that is the figure the Treasury publishes as the national debt.
Ownership questions
Who owns the most U.S. national debt?
Americans do. Of the $40.4 trillion total, $7.85 trillion is held by federal trust funds and about $23.3 trillion by U.S. investors and institutions, including the Federal Reserve. Foreign holders account for roughly $9.33 trillion (23.1% of the total).
How much U.S. debt does China own?
Mainland China held $591 billion of Treasury securities in August 2026, ranking number 3 among foreign holders and equal to about 1.5% of total U.S. debt, according to Treasury International Capital data.
Which country holds the most U.S. Treasury securities?
Japan, with $1.07 trillion in August 2026, followed by United Kingdom ($1.01 trillion) and China, Mainland ($591 billion).
Why do Belgium, Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands rank so high?
TIC data record where securities are held in custody, not who ultimately owns them. Financial centers that host large custodians and investment funds hold Treasuries on behalf of investors from many countries, so their totals overstate local ownership.
Is the debt owed to Social Security real debt?
Yes. Intragovernmental holdings are Treasury securities backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. They are owed by one part of the government to another, which is why some measures — such as debt held by the public — exclude them.