U.S. Department of the Treasury

Office of Public Affairs

Press Release: August 31, 2021

Contact: Treasury Public Affairs, (202) 622-2960

Preliminary Annual Report on U.S. Holdings of Foreign Securities 

at Year-End 2020 

Washington – Preliminary data from an annual survey of U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign 

securities at year-end 2020 were released today and posted on the Treasury web site at 

(https://home.treasury.gov/data/treasury-international-capital-tic-system/tic-formsinstructions/us-claims-on-foreigners-from-holdings-of-foreign-securities). The final survey 

report, which will include additional detail as well as possible revisions to the data, will be 

released on October 29, 2021.

The survey was undertaken jointly by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve 

Bank of New York, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. 

A complementary survey measuring foreign holdings of U.S. securities also is conducted 

annually. Data from the most recent such survey, which reports on securities held on June 30, 

2021, are currently being processed. Preliminary results are expected to be reported on February 

28, 2022.

Overall Preliminary Results

The survey measured the value of U.S. holdings of foreign securities at year-end 2020 at 

approximately $14.4 trillion, with $10.6 trillion held in foreign equities, $3.4 trillion held in 

foreign long-term debt securities (original term-to-maturity in excess of one year), and $0.4

trillion held in foreign short-term debt securities. The previous such survey, conducted as of 

year-end 2019, measured the value of U.S. holdings at $13.1 trillion, with $9.5 trillion held in 

foreign equities, $3.1 trillion held in foreign long-term debt securities, and $0.5 trillion held in 

foreign short-term debt securities.
Table 1. U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities, by type of security, as of survey dates

(Billions of dollars)

Type of Security Dec. 31, 2019 Dec. 31, 2020

Long-term securities 12,617 13,993

Equity 9,478 10,614

Long-term debt 3,139 3,378

Short-term debt securities 470 400

Total 13,087 14,392

Table 2. U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities, by country of issuer and type of security, 

for the countries attracting the most U.S. portfolio investment, as of December 31, 2020

(Market value, billions of dollars, except as noted)

Total Equity Long-term Debt Short-term Debt 

1 Cayman Islands 2,567 2,026 533 7

2 United Kingdom 1,393 920 433 40

3 Japan 1,296 1,013 182 102

4 Canada 1,168 683 412 73

5 France 698 479 187 32

6 Ireland 698 608 80 10

7 Switzerland 634 590 43 1

8 Netherlands 629 423 197 9

9 Germany 535 422 92 20

10 Australia 378 227 126 25

11 Taiwan 304 304 * 0

12 Korea, South 300 277 22 1

13 China, mainland (1) 287 251 34 2

14 Bermuda 283 240 44 *

15 India 234 223 11 *

16 Sweden 197 155 28 14

17 Luxembourg 197 129 63 5

18 Brazil 169 144 24 *

19 Hong Kong 166 158 7 1

20 Spain 163 113 47 2

21 Denmark 158 139 16 3

22 Mexico 153 64 88 1

23 Italy 148 96 51 *

24 Jersey 138 126 10 1

25 International organizations 119 * 108 11

26 Israel 94 71 23 *

27 Singapore 92 58 12 22

28 South Africa 79 65 14 *

29 Russia 74 57 17 0

30 Norway 72 37 30 5

Rest of world 969 513 443 13

Total 14,392 10,614 3,378 400

* Greater than zero, but less than $500 million. (1) China excludes Hong Kong and Macau, which are reported 

separately.