Who has the worst national debt?
At the top is Japan, whose national debt has remained above 100% of its GDP for two decades, reaching 255% in 2023.
At the top is Japan, whose national debt has remained above 100% of its GDP for two decades, reaching 255% in 2023.
United States. The United States boasts both the world's biggest national debt in terms of dollar amount and its largest economy, which resolves to a debt-to GDP ratio of approximately 128.13%. The United States' government's spending exceeds its income most years, and the US has not had a budget surplus since 2001.
- Japan. Japan held $1.1 trillion in Treasury securities as of October 2023, beating out China as the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt. ...
- China. China gets a lot of attention for holding a big chunk of the U.S. government's debt. ...
- The United Kingdom. ...
- Luxembourg. ...
- Cayman Islands.
1) Switzerland. It is no surprise to see Switzerland on this list. Switzerland is a country that, in practically all economic and social metrics, is an example to follow. With a population of almost 9 million people, Switzerland has no natural resources of its own, no access to the sea, and virtually no public debt.
The United States pays interest on approximately $850 billion in debt held by the People's Republic of China. China, however, is currently in default on its sovereign debt held by American bondholders.
Debt as a share of GDP has risen to about the same level as in the United States, while in dollar terms China's total debt ($47.5 trillion) is still markedly below that of the United States (close to $70 trillion). As for non-financial corporate debt, China's 28 percent share is the largest in the world.
- Oklahoma: Least Indebted State. Score: 0 out of 100. The Sooner State has the fourth-lowest government debt in the nation at just $4,786.67 per capita. ...
- Iowa. Score: 4.65 out of 100. ...
- New Hampshire. Score: 17.44 out of 100. ...
- Nebraska. Score: 17.44 out of 100. ...
- Ohio. Score: 20.93 out of 100.
US Treasurys Owned by China, in USD Billions
As of Oct. 2022, China owns $769.6 billion of the total $7,565 billion U.S. national debt.
Who owns this debt? The public owes 74 percent of the current federal debt. Intragovernmental debt accounts for 26 percent or $5.9 trillion. The public includes foreign investors and foreign governments.
Does any country owe the US money?
Singapore. The total amount owed by Singapore to the US is $187.6 billion. This ranks the country among those who owe money to the United States. The sovereign debt per capita is also high in Singapore.
Who owns the most U.S. debt? Around 70 percent of U.S. debt is held by domestic financial actors and institutions in the United States. U.S. Treasuries represent a convenient, liquid, low-risk store of value.
For a long time, the biggest holder of U.S. debt was China. But did you know that in late 2016, Japan overtook China as the biggest foreign holder of U.S. debt? Japan and China are, by far, the two biggest holders of U.S. debt – but the top five is filled with countries that you might not expect.
Years of elevated budget deficits, exacerbated by massive federal spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, have taken the debt to historic levels: totaling more than $26 trillion in 2023, U.S. federal government debt is now at its highest percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) since World War II.
Luxembourg, whose financial sector makes up 25% of its GDP, is the world's richest country by GDP per capita. With a population of just 660,000, the country is also considered a tax haven, incentivizing foreign investment due to its favorable tax policies.
- Argentina: In 2001, Argentina defaulted on its $100 billion debt to foreign creditors. ...
- Greece: In 2015, Greece defaulted on its $320 billion debt to foreign creditors. ...
- Zambia: In 2020, Zambia defaulted on its $12 billion debt to foreign creditors.
Russia hold zero US debt. China is liquidating its treasuries as fast as it can. Except for abandoned US businesses in Russia, Russia holds very little US assets. As for China, Chinese investors hold US stocks and bonds, but the government, only the treasuries.
Consequences of Owing Debt to the Chinese
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.
First, the debt held by the public stands at more than $24.64 trillion. This represents debt securities, like Treasury bonds and notes, bought by banks, insurance companies, state and local governments, foreign governments and private investors.
The financial position of the United States includes assets of at least $269 trillion (1576% of GDP) and debts of $145.8 trillion (852% of GDP) to produce a net worth of at least $123.8 trillion (723% of GDP).
How much is Russia in debt?
Estimate of External Debt of the Russian Federation as of December 31, 2023. According to the Bank of Russia's estimate, external debt of the Russian Federation as of December 31, 2023 totaled $326.6 billion, having decreased by $57.0 billion, or by 14.9%, since the end of 2022.
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).
Around 23% of Americans are debt free, according to the most recent data available from the Federal Reserve. That figure factors in every type of debt, from credit card balances and student loans to mortgages, car loans and more. The exact definition of debt free can vary, though, depending on whom you ask.
On the contrary, there would be no money. The national debt accounts for the money in circulation around the world and a country. Principally, the national debt fuels all other debts and its non-existence will result in the complete decimation of money.
In the fiscal year of 2022, the state debt of Hawaii was about 8.52 billion U.S. dollars. In that same year, the state's local government debt was 7.87 billion U.S. dollars.
References
- https://www.ksidc.org/investinkerala/why-kerala/
- https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1041038/hawaii-state-local-government-debt/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1175077/healthcare-military-percent-gdp-select-countries-worldwide/
- https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fy23_ndaa_agreement_summary.pdf
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/080615/china-owns-us-debt-how-much.asp
- https://budget.qld.gov.au/update/economic-overview/
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets-economy/090616/5-countries-own-most-us-debt.asp
- https://budget.qld.gov.au/files/Budget_2023-24_BP2_Revenue.pdf
- https://www.livemint.com/news/india/no-income-tax-why-residents-of-this-indian-state-sikkim-exempted-from-paying-taxes-11676505925327.html
- https://www.tiq.qld.gov.au/international-business/doing-business-in-queensland/economy
- https://www.qtc.com.au/queensland/queenslands-economy-and-trade/
- https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/military-spending-by-country
- https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2001375
- https://www.livemint.com/industry/budget-2024-defence-sector-gets-highest-allocation-at-rs-6-2-lakh-crore-agriculture-at-lowest-11706772889935.html
- https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4075341-china-is-in-default-on-a-trillion-dollars-in-debt-to-us-bondholders-will-the-us-force-repayment/
- https://www.pgpf.org/national-debt-clock
- https://budget.qld.gov.au/update/fiscal-overview/net-operating-balance/
- https://www.cbr.ru/eng/statistics/macro_itm/svs/ext-debt/
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-20-countries-owe-us-175515001.html
- https://www.zeebiz.com/personal-finance/news-income-tax-why-residents-of-this-state-do-not-have-to-pay-tax-223134
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9839153/
- https://www.cbo.gov/content/budgetary-implications-eliminating-cabinet-department
- https://www.ndtv.com/business-news/budget-2024-defence-ministry-gets-highest-allocation-agriculture-lowest-4973933
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/272473/us-military-spending-from-2000-to-2012/
- https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-by-national-debt
- https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2001136
- https://wallethub.com/answers/cc/what-percentage-of-america-is-debt-free-2140664784/
- https://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-where-do-our-federal-tax-dollars-go
- https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/economy/story/here-are-indias-top-10-states-with-the-fastest-growth-in-per-capita-income-in-the-last-decade-403881-2023-10-31
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/246420/major-foreign-holders-of-us-treasury-debt/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_position_of_the_United_States
- https://unacademy.com/content/general-awareness/list-of-finance-ministers-of-india/
- https://www.pgpf.org/budget-basics/budget-explainer-national-defense
- https://home.watson.brown.edu/research/research-briefs/chinese-military-spending-context
- https://usafacts.org/articles/which-countries-own-the-most-us-debt/
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/040115/reasons-why-china-buys-us-treasury-bonds.asp
- https://www.quora.com/Why-do-foreign-countries-like-China-or-Russia-hold-huge-amounts-of-U-S-dollar-denominated-assets-debt
- https://prsindia.org/budgets/parliament/union-budget-2022-23-analysis
- https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/general/where-tax-dollars-are-spent/L0CBBjj5M
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Intelligence_Agency
- https://wisevoter.com/state-rankings/gdp-by-state/
- https://www.americanprogress.org/article/a-trillion-dollar-defense-budget/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_highest_military_expenditures
- https://leapscholar.com/blog/list-of-top-us-states-to-live-cost-income-safety-quality-of-life/
- https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/us-debt-by-state-and-worldwide/
- https://www.canarahsbclife.com/tax-university/articles/all-about-tax-structure-in-india
- https://www.ssa.gov/history/pdf/80chap3.pdf
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/312660/us-state-and-local-government-debt-outstanding-by-state/
- https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/what-are-sources-revenue-federal-government
- https://homework.study.com/explanation/what-would-happen-if-the-u-s-actually-paid-off-the-national-debt-where-would-the-banks-big-financial-institutions-and-government-foreign-and-domestic-put-their-cash.html
- https://www.itsuptous.org/blog/who-does-us-owe-money-to
- https://budget.qld.gov.au/overview/budget-overview/
- https://www.marketplace.org/2023/02/08/what-would-it-take-balance-federal-budget/
- https://www.marketplace.org/2023/05/26/who-does-the-u-s-owe-31-4-trillion/
- https://www.nextias.com/ca/editorial-analysis/23-12-2023/indias-defence-budgeting
- https://budget.qld.gov.au/update/fiscal-overview/balance-sheet/
- https://www.quora.com/Are-there-any-examples-of-countries-refusing-to-pay-their-debts-to-foreign-lenders
- https://www.visualcapitalist.com/government-debt-by-country-advanced-economies/
- https://www.oracle.com/in/performance-management/planning/zero-based-budgeting/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_public_debt
- https://www.qtc.com.au/queensland/queenslands-finances/
- https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2023/09/13/global-debt-is-returning-to-its-rising-trend
- https://knoema.com/atlas/Australia/ranks/GDP-per-Capita
- https://research.arizona.edu/administration/2023-federal-government-shutdown
- https://www.businessinsider.com/us-defense-military-budget-compared-federal-education-spending-2023-4
- https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/national-deficit/
- https://www.visualcapitalist.com/worlds-richest-countries-across-3-metrics/
- https://chinapower.csis.org/us-debt/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expenditures_in_the_United_States_federal_budget
- https://www.governing.com/archive/gov-taxpayers-10-states-give-more-feds-than-get-back.html
- https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/government-revenue/
- https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/federal-spending/
- https://www.cnbctv18.com/economy/indias-net-direct-tax-collections-surge-nearly-21-pc-in-fy24-so-far-18595161.htm
- https://budget.qld.gov.au/files/Budget_2023-24_BP2_Balance_sheet_and_cash_flows.pdf
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/262742/countries-with-the-highest-military-spending/
- https://www.titlemax.com/discovery-center/money-finance/debts-owed-by-the-us-and-owed-to-the-us/
- https://prsindia.org/budgets/parliament/union-budget-2023-24-analysis-of-major-demands
- https://testbook.com/question-answer/largest-revenue-in-india-is-obtained-from--5e550e1ef60d5d49c694e114
- https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/
- https://calmatters.org/economy/2023/12/california-budget-deficit-2023/
- https://www.creditmantri.com/road-taxes-in-states-and-uts-of-india/
- https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-national-debt-dilemma
- https://www.clearfinances.net/countries-without-public-debt/
- https://www.usaspending.gov/
- https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiatives/state-and-local-finance-initiative/state-and-local-backgrounders/state-and-local-expenditures
- https://unacademy.com/content/bank-exam/study-material/general-awareness/sources-of-revenue-and-expenditure-of-the-government-of-india/
- https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-most-people-in-financial-distress/130790
- https://www.commbank.com.au/articles/newsroom/2023/10/commsec-state-of-states-october23.html
- https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1895315