Overall, foreign investors held $8.8 trillion in U.S. Treasuries as of February, up from $8.53 trillion in January. That’s an increase of $818 billion, or 10.2%, compared to the same time last year.
The country’s national debt as of today (April 16) is $36.1 trillion.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released Treasury International Capital (TIC) data for February 2025.
Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries rose 3.4% in February, data from the Treasury Department showed on Wednesday, with the two largest owners, Japan and China, each building up their U.S. debt holdings.
Japan is the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, with over $1 trillion, followed by China ($784 billion) and the U.K. ($750 billion).
The graphic below highlights the major foreign holders of the U.S. national debt using data from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, as of February 2025.
Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries surged in February by the most since June 2021, with Japan and China as the two biggest holders. Both increased their U.S. debt holdings during the month.
Here are the top 10 foreign holders of the U.S. Treasuries from January 2024 until February 2025.
The biggest increase in U.S. Treasury Securities was seen by Canada. The country held $350 billion in January and increased its holdings by 16%, holding a little over $400 million of U.S. Treasury Securities. Hong Kong, France and Singapore increased there holdings in February.
Meanwhile, Germany, France and Switzerland decreased their holdings during the same month.
In its recent report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects the global public debt to increase by 2.8 percentage points this year—more than twice the estimates for 2024—pushing debt levels above 95% of gross domestic product.
The IMF warns that the upward trend is likely to continue, with public debt nearing 100 percent of GDP by the end of the decade, surpassing pandemic levels. The calculations are based on the World Economic Outlook reference projections, which take into account the tariff announcements made between Feb. 1 and April 4.