Whom does the United States owe nearly $31 trillion in debt?
The national debt could reach $31 trillion as soon as this month
FOX Business Flash top headlines for September 14
Check out what's clicking on FoxBusiness.com
The U.S. has about $30.9 trillion in national debt, according to the latest data from Treasury Department, and that total will reach a record $31 trillion as early as later in the month.
Roughly $24.3 trillion of America's total public debt outstanding consists of debt held by the public, and $6.6 trillion is intragovernmental holdings, according to Monday data from the Treasury Department.
US NATIONAL DEBT NEARS $31T: HOW IT COMPARES WITH OTHER COUNTRIES
Intragovernmental holdings include federal trust funds, revolving funds and special funds, as well as Federal Financing Bank securities, the Treasury Department said on its website.
The Department of the Treasury building in Washington on Aug. 29, 2022. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Debt held by the public consists of all national debt "held by any person or entity that is not a U.S. federal government agency," according to the Treasury Department. That includes corporations, domestic individual investors, local or state governments, Federal Reserve banks, foreign investors, foreign governments and other entities.
US NATIONAL DEBT NEARS $31T: WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S A CONCERN
About a third of the debt held by the public is held by foreign holders. Foreign countries hold a total of roughly $7.4 trillion of U.S. debt as of the end of June, the most recent month with available data.
About a third of U.S. debt held by the public is held by foreign holders. (Getty Images / iStock / Getty Images)
Japan is the largest holder with about $1.2 trillion in Treasury securities. Behind Japan, the four countries with the largest U.S. debt holdings are China at $967.8 billion, the U.K. at $615.4 billion, Luxembourg at $306.8 billion and the Cayman Islands at $300.4 billion.
READ FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
The U.S. national debt last hit a milestone in February 2020 when it surpassed $30 trillion for the first time.
Rising debt could have ramifications for the U.S. economy, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office warned in its long-term budget outlook released in July. It would "raise borrowing costs throughout the economy, reduce private investment, and slow the growth of economic output over time," the agency said.