The Great Flow of U.S. Debt

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The national debt has been one of the biggest talking points of the year in world politics. From the American debt ceiling fiasco in July to the impending crisis in Europe, the astronomical levels to which worldwide national debts have risen is have become a tremendous source of worry for economists, businessmen, and the general public alike. Our debt problem in the US is one that seems so large that it would be nearly impossible to clear it, and markets seem to plunge whenever this problem returns to the news cycle. Foreign debt, especially, freaks a lot of people out, especially when talking about the enormous chunk we owe China – something to the tune of $1.2 trillion. But China is not the only owner of US debt – far from it. In fact, name a random country somewhere in the world, and we probably owe them something. And though many debts are small in comparison to those of big lenders like Japan, the UK, and aforementioned China, they aren’t chump change either. We owe Sweden around $20 billion, quite a tidy sum indeed. This infographic breaks down exactly where our debt is owed, and even breaks it down to the per-citizen level.