Foreign-Held Federal Debt (Share)
The share of the publicly-held federal debt owed to foreign investors.
| Year | Foreign-Held Federal Debt (Share) |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 6.8% |
| 1971 | 14.5% |
| 1972 | 16.4% |
| 1973 | 16.1% |
| 1974 | 16.7% |
| 1975 | 15.2% |
| 1976 | 15.4% |
| 1977 | 19.4% |
| 1978 | 21.5% |
| 1979 | 18.1% |
| 1980 | 17.6% |
| 1981 | 16.5% |
| 1982 | 15.1% |
| 1983 | 14.2% |
| 1984 | 14.0% |
| 1985 | 14.1% |
| 1986 | 14.5% |
| 1987 | 15.3% |
| 1988 | 17.3% |
| 1989 | 19.0% |
| 1990 | 19.2% |
| 1991 | 18.4% |
| 1992 | 18.4% |
| 1993 | 19.2% |
| 1994 | 18.8% |
| 1995 | 22.7% |
| 1996 | 28.8% |
| 1997 | 32.3% |
| 1998 | 33.8% |
| 1999 | 34.1% |
| 2000 | 29.7% |
| 2001 | 30.6% |
| 2002 | 33.9% |
| 2003 | 37.7% |
| 2004 | 42.0% |
| 2005 | 43.1% |
| 2006 | 42.9% |
| 2007 | 45.8% |
| 2008 | 48.3% |
| 2009 | 47.2% |
| 2010 | 47.2% |
| 2011 | 47.9% |
| 2012 | 48.1% |
| 2013 | 46.9% |
| 2014 | 47.3% |
| 2015 | 44.8% |
| 2016 | 41.6% |
| 2017 | 41.9% |
| 2018 | 38.9% |
| 2019 | 39.8% |
| 2020 | 32.7% |
| 2021 | 33.4% |
| 2022 | 29.3% |
| 2023 | 29.5% |
| 2024 | 29.9% |
| 2025 | 30.0% |
Hover the line to read any month. Drag across the chart to zoom; double-click to reset.
Source: FRED · FDHBFIN/FYGFDPUN · series · Jan 1970 to Oct 2025 · latest-revised
Refreshed Jul 31, 2026 from FRED.
The share of the publicly-held federal debt owed to foreign investors.
Federal debt held by foreign and international investors as a percentage of total federal debt held by the public.
Source: FRED · Oct 2025 · Full lesson → Learn
About the bands. Shaded spans are NBER-dated US recessions, drawn as factual overlays. They mark when the economy contracted, not why. Lining an event up with a move is not evidence it caused the move.
Read across
No single number is the economy. These measure nearby parts of it — add one to compare, or open it on its own.
- Federal Debt (% of GDP) The total publicly held debt this is a share of.
- Trade Balance The trade gap, which sits alongside flows of foreign capital.