However, this has declined over time, and as of 2022 they controlled approximately 25% of foreign-owned debt. As of January 2023, the five countries owning the most US debt are Japan ($1.1 trillion), China ($859 billion), the United Kingdom ($668 billion), Belgium ($331 billion), and Luxembourg ($318 billion).
At the end of 2021, of the 98 countries for whom data was available, Pakistan ($27.4 billion of external debt to China), Angola (22.0 billion), Ethiopia (7.4 billion), Kenya (7.4 billion) and Sri Lanka (7.2 billion) held the biggest debts to China.
The US owes so much money to China because of the large trade and investment deficit the US currently has with China. This deficit is the result of a combination of factors, including rising wages and technology costs in the US, slow growth in the US economy, and US policies that favor the import of goods from China.
The total debt of China's LGFVs has swelled to a record 66 trillion yuan ($9.5 trillion), equivalent to half of the country's economy, from 57 trillion yuan last year, according to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report last month.
The annual cost of debt will rise from $17.7bn in 2022-23 to a peak of $27.1bn in 2025-26, before reducing back down to $26bn in 2026-27, according to new estimates in the budget.
This year, Victoria is expected to hold about $170 billion in debt while NSW is forecast to hold about $160 billion. Foo said the states routinely under-delivered on their infrastructure plans.
The United States has the world's highest national debt with $30.1 trillion owed to creditors as of the first quarter of 2023.
China's debt is nearly 44% of its GDP and its local governments owe nearly $5.14 trillion. With the economic slowdown and collapse of land sales revenue, provinces and local governments in China are facing an embarrassing situation.
Investors in Japan and China hold significant shares of U.S. public debt. Together, as of September 2022, they accounted for nearly $2 trillion, or about 8 percent of DHBP. While China's holdings of U.S. debt have declined over the past decade, Japan has slightly increased their purchases of U.S. Treasury securities.
The authors' research, based on a comprehensive new data set, reveals that between 1949 and 2017, the state and its subsidiaries lent about $1.5 trillion to more than 150 countries across the globe — much of which has been hidden from public view.
China's economy has experienced remarkable growth in the last few decades, making it one of the world's largest and most influential economies. However, this growth has come at a cost, with the country's national debt steadily increasing, raising concerns about China's ability to achieve and sustain economic stability.
The PRC claims the de jure administration of Taiwan Province, as well as mainland-nearby islands of Kinmen and Matsu Islands, currently controlled by the Republic of China (ROC).
Yes, when China sells U.S. Treasuries in bond markets, that pushes the prices of bonds down generally. And cheaper prices for bonds means higher bond “yields,” or interest rates. So China's sales do piggyback onto similar sales by the Federal Reserve to implement its policy of raising short-term interest rates.
The countries with the biggest debt burdens in relative terms were Djibouti and Angola, followed by the Maldives and Laos, which opened a debt-laden railway line to China last year. The President of the World Bank, David Malpass, has called the level of debt “unsustainable” that many countries once again hold.
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.
If China called in all of its U.S. holdings, the U.S. dollar would depreciate, whereas the yuan would appreciate, making Chinese goods more expensive.
Many people believe that much of the U.S. national debt is owed to foreign countries like China and Japan, but the truth is that most of it is owed to Social Security and pension funds right here in the U.S. This means that U.S. citizens own most of the national debt.
Former Société Générale rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel owes the bank $6.3 billion. Here's what his case tells us about financial reform.
Japan tops the ranking with central government debt of 221 percent of GDP, followed by Greece, Sudan, Eritrea, and Singapore. Not long ago, the U.S. was among the least indebted countries. In 2001, U.S. federal debt was 42 percent of GDP, lower than debt levels found in 100 other countries.
A flurry of big spending packages and ballooning social welfare costs for a rapidly ageing population have left Japan with a debt pile 263% the size of its economy - double the ratio for the United States and the highest among major economies.
According to available data from the OECD, the average Australian household debt-to-income ratio comes in at $187 for every $100 of after-tax income.
The main reason, however, why Australian household debt is relatively high is that the housing rental stock, and hence the debt used to fund it, is owned by the household sector. In most other countries, a significant share of rental properties, and the associated debt, belongs to the government or corporate sectors.
The majority (two-thirds) of our government debt is held by non-resident investors. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the United States and the United Kingdom are the biggest investors followed by Belgium, Japan and Hong Kong (SAR of China).