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Foreign-Held Federal Debt (Share)

The share of the publicly-held federal debt owed to foreign investors.

30.5%
Percent of public debt · latest, Jul 2025
vs prior quarter ▼ 1.0 pp
vs year ago ▼ 0.4 pp
1969-70 Recession · Dec 1969 – Nov 19701973-75 Recession · Nov 1973 – Mar 19751980 Recession · Jan 1980 – Jul 19801981-82 Recession · Jul 1981 – Nov 19821990-91 Recession · Jul 1990 – Mar 19912001 Recession · Mar 2001 – Nov 2001Global Financial Crisis · Dec 2007 – Jun 2009COVID-19 Recession · Feb 2020 – Apr 202010%20%30%40%19701980199020002010202030.5%

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Source: FRED · FDHBFIN/FYGFDPUN · series · Jan 1970 to Jul 2025 · latest-revised

Reading it. Derived from Treasury data via FRED: foreign and international holdings (FDHBFIN) divided by total federal debt held by the public (FYGFDPUN). The portion of the publicly-held debt owed to creditors outside the United States. It does not separate foreign governments from private investors, or speak to the terms of what is held.

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 or policy up with a move on this chart is not evidence that it caused the move.

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