A viral claim circulating on social media asserts that foreign buyers now snap up 71% of newly issued US debt, a dramatic jump from roughly 14% between 2015 and 2022. The numbers have sparked heated debate about America’s fiscal trajectory and what it means for markets. The real picture is more nuanced than a single data point suggests, but the underlying trend is genuinely significant.
Foreign holdings of US federal debt have climbed to approximately $9.2 trillion as of December 2025, sitting on top of a $30.1 trillion pile of publicly held debt. That’s up from $7.7 trillion in December 2021, a $1.5 trillion increase in absolute terms. Whether the “71% of new issuances” figure holds up to scrutiny is a separate question, but the direction of travel is clear: foreign capital is flowing into Treasuries at a pace that deserves attention.
The paradox of growing holdings and shrinking share
Despite that $1.5 trillion increase in foreign-held debt, the foreign share of total US public debt has actually fallen. It dropped from 34% in late 2021 to 31% by December 2025.
Zoom out further and the decline is even more striking. Foreign holders owned roughly 49% of US public debt back in 2011. The reason for the shrinking share isn’t waning interest from abroad. It’s that America has been issuing debt so fast that even record foreign buying can’t keep up with the denominator.
