debt

Public Debt → about $31.5 trillion
Intragovernmental Debt → about $7.5 trillion
Public debt is the portion borrowed from investors outside the federal government.
Intragovernmental debt is money the government owes to its own programs.
Public Debt ($31.5T)
Public debt makes up the majority of total U.S. debt, which is equal to approximately $31.5 trillion. This is the money the government borrows from investors, both within the country and outside the country, to fund its spending.
Domestic Investors
The biggest share of public debt is held by domestic investors. This includes:
Mutual funds and pension fundsBanks and financial institutionsIndividual investorsInsurance companies and other institutions
Pension and mutual funds alone hold a large portion of total public debt. These funds manage retirement savings, which means a major part of U.S. debt is connected to the financial future of everyday Americans.
Banks and institutions also invest in U.S. Treasury bonds due to their safe and reliable nature. This shows that the U.S. is largely borrowing money from within its own economy.
Foreign Investors
Foreign countries also hold a large share of public debt, around $9 trillion. Japan is the biggest holder of U.S. debt, with about $1.2 trillion. The United Kingdom is next, holding around $897 billion. China comes after that, with about $697 billion.
In recent years, there has been a shift between the two biggest economies, such as China and japan in holding US treasury securities.
China has been gradually reducing its holdings of U.S. debt. In February 2025, China held about $784 billion of U.S. Treasury securities, but now its holdings have declined to around $693 billion.
The reason for this decrease can be attributed to political and economic tensions that have been growing between the two largest economies. Moreover, China is looking to diversify its foreign exchange holdings; therefore, it is gradually reducing its U.S. Treasury holdings.
This decline is linked to rising political and economic tensions between the two largest economies in the world. Additionally, China is diversifying its foreign reserves into other assets. It is also part of the de-dollarization trend, where countries try to reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar and the financial system.
On the other hand, Japan has moved in the opposite direction. In February 2025, Japan held around $1.12 trillion of U.S. treasury securities, and its holdings have now increased to approximately $1.23 trillion. This shows that Japan continues to be a consistent buyer of U.S. debt.
Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve also holds a large portion of public debt, about $4.4 trillion. It buys government bonds as part of its monetary policy. This helps the Fed to manage interest rates and support the economy during times of crisis or slowdown.
Intragovernmental Debt
The second major part of U.S. debt is intragovernmental debt, which is around $7.5 trillion. This is money that one part of the government owes to another.
The biggest example of Intragovernmental Debt is the Social Security Trust Fund. When Social Security collects more money than it needs, it invests the surplus in U.S. Treasury bonds. In this way, the government borrows from its own program. Other government trust funds work in a similar way.
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Hong Kong ranks first with total debt equal to 380% of GDP, followed by Japan at 372%The U.S. ranks seventh at 264%, led by government debt (123%) and corporate debt (73%
Hong Kong Tops the Ranking
With a total debt burden of 380%, Hong Kong has the world’s highest total debt. This small special administrative region (SAR) of China is highly developed and urbanized, counting roughly 7.5 million inhabitants
While its government debt is a relatively slim 67% and its total household debt of 86% hovers around global developed-country standards, Hong Kong’s corporate debt is a staggering 227% of GDP, making up nearly the entirety of its total debt burden.
The table below shows the total debt burden and breakdowns for household, corporate, and government debt to GDP:
Japan’s Government Debt Nears 200% of GDP
In contrast, Japan’s corporate debt (113%) is relatively in line with other OECD and developed peers; however, the government’s sprawling government debt of just shy of 200% of GDP is higher than many countries’ total debt burden.
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