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Most U.S. federal debt held by the public is owned in the United States. The Federal Reserve, mutual funds, banks and other financial institutions, pension and retirement plans, governments, households and other domestic investors hold about seven-tenths in the Congressional Budget Office’s September 30, 2025 snapshot. Foreign investors hold about three-tenths. Japan was the largest named foreign holder in that snapshot, ahead of the United Kingdom and mainland China.
What “owning the national debt” means
When an investor owns a Treasury bill, note, bond, inflation-protected security, savings bond or state-and-local-government series security, that investor owns a claim on the federal government. The U.S. Treasury calls the total held outside federal government accounts debt held by the public. TreasuryDirect defines it as federal debt held by “individuals, corporations, state or local governments, Federal Reserve Banks, foreign governments, and other entities outside the United States Government.”
Debt held in federal government accounts is tracked separately. Those intragovernmental holdings represent one federal account holding securities issued by another; they are not counted in the debt-held-by-the-public ownership breakdown discussed below.
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How much debt was held by the public?
| Source and reference date | Measure | Reported amount or share |
|---|---|---|
| Congressional Budget Office, 2026 analysis of holdings on September 30, 2025 | Debt held by the public | $30.2 trillion |
| Congressional Budget Office, same snapshot | Domestic entities’ share | Approximately 70% |
| Congressional Budget Office, same snapshot | Foreign investors’ share | Approximately 30% |
| Office of Management and Budget, 2026, holdings at the end of 2025 | Federal Reserve Treasury holdings | $4.196 trillion, reported as 14% of debt held by the public |
| Office of Management and Budget, 2026, holdings at the end of 2025 | Foreign holdings | $9.234 trillion, reported as 31% of debt held by the public |
| U.S. Treasury, June 30, 2025 | Foreign holdings of U.S. long-term debt securities | $13.840 trillion, including $6.598 trillion held officially |
These figures are not interchangeable. They use different dates, security coverage, classifications and denominators. The CBO’s 70%/30% split, the OMB end-of-2025 percentages and Treasury’s June long-term-securities total answer related but different questions.
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Who holds the domestic share?
In its 2026 presentation of 2025 holdings, the CBO identifies the Federal Reserve as the largest named U.S. holder category in its domestic-holder breakdown. Mutual funds and private financial institutions are the next largest named categories.
| Domestic holder category | CBO share in its 2025 domestic-holder breakdown | What the category includes |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Reserve | 16% | Treasury securities held by Federal Reserve Banks |
| Mutual funds | 15% | Funds that hold Treasuries for their investors |
| Private financial institutions | 6% | Private-sector financial firms other than the separately identified categories |
The same domestic universe also includes households, pension and retirement funds, insurance companies, banks, state and local governments, nonprofit organizations and corporations. The Federal Reserve’s securities are included in debt held by the public because they are held outside the Treasury’s consolidated government accounts.
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Which foreign countries hold U.S. debt?
The CBO’s graphic for the September 30, 2025 snapshot lists the following named foreign holders:
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| Holder | Share shown by the CBO | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | 4% | Share of total federal debt in the CBO graphic |
| United Kingdom | 3% | Share of total federal debt in the CBO graphic |
| Mainland China | 2% | Share of total federal debt in the CBO graphic |
Those percentages are shares of total federal debt, not percentages of the foreign-held portion alone. For later monthly country totals, the Treasury’s Treasury International Capital (TIC) Table 5 is the relevant source. Government agencies, central banks and government-owned investment funds are generally classified as official holders; private investors make up the other foreign category.
Does China own most of America’s debt?
No. China is one of the largest foreign holders, but it is not the sole owner of U.S. debt and was not the largest named foreign holder in the cited CBO snapshot. Japan ranked ahead of mainland China, with the United Kingdom between them.
Country totals also have a custody limitation. A security purchased for an investor in China may be held through a bank or other custodian in another financial center, so the recorded location does not always identify the ultimate beneficial owner. The accurate wording is therefore that China is a major foreign holder, with the amount and ranking stated for a specific date and table.
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Is most of the debt owed to Americans?
Using the CBO’s September 30, 2025 estimate, yes: roughly 70% of debt held by the public was held by domestic entities. “Domestic” does not mean only individual Americans. It includes U.S. financial institutions, retirement vehicles, governments, corporations, households and the Federal Reserve.
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Why published ownership percentages differ
Before comparing two numbers, check four attributes:
- Location: Is the holder domestic or foreign?
- Investor type: Is the holder an official institution, such as a central bank, or a private investor?
- Denominator: Is the percentage a share of total federal debt, debt held by the public, Treasury securities, or only foreign-held securities?
- Reference date and dataset: Does the figure come from the CBO’s September 30, 2025 snapshot, the OMB’s end-of-2025 accounts, or Treasury’s June 30, 2025 TIC data?
For example, the CBO’s country percentages cannot be compared directly with Treasury’s June long-term-securities dollar total without adjusting for the different date, security set and denominator. A careful comparison keeps those labels attached to every number.
What the ownership tells you—and what it does not
- U.S. debt is financed by a broad mix of domestic and foreign holders rather than by one country.
- The Federal Reserve and mutual funds are each larger named holder categories in the CBO domestic breakdown than any single foreign country in the cited graphic.
- Foreign governments and central banks are only part of foreign ownership; private foreign investors also hold Treasury securities.
- Holding a Treasury security gives the investor a financial claim, but it does not give that investor control of U.S. fiscal policy.
- The ownership mix can change as securities mature, new debt is issued and investors rebalance portfolios, so every percentage needs a date.
Bottom line
The U.S. national debt is owned by the holders of Treasury securities and related federal obligations. In the CBO’s September 30, 2025 snapshot of $30.2 trillion in debt held by the public, about 70% was held domestically and about 30% by foreign investors. Japan, the United Kingdom and mainland China were leading named foreign holders, while the Federal Reserve, mutual funds and other U.S. institutions represented major domestic categories. China owns part of the debt—not most of it—and no single country owns the U.S. national debt.
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