Visual Capitalist: The World’s $160 Trillion Deby Market In One Chart
Inside the $160 Trillion Global Debt Market
The global debt securities market has reached an extraordinary scale. At the end of 2025, approximately $160.7 trillion in bonds and other tradable debt securities were outstanding worldwide, highlighting the important role fixed-income markets play in financing governments, financial institutions and corporations.
The U.S. Remains the Global Leader
The United States continues to dominate the global debt market, with approximately $61.2 trillion in outstanding debt securities. That represents roughly 38% of the worldwide total and is nearly twice the size of the European Union’s $31.1 trillion market.
Importantly, the U.S. figure represents more than federal government debt. It also includes debt securities issued by financial institutions and nonfinancial corporations.
The European Union accounts for approximately 19.4% of the global market, followed closely by China at 17.9%. Together, the U.S., EU and China represent more than three-quarters of the world’s outstanding debt securities.
China’s Debt Market Continues to Expand
One of the most notable long-term shifts has been the rapid expansion of China’s debt securities market.
China had approximately $7.8 trillion in outstanding debt securities in 2015. By 2025, that figure had grown to $28.7 trillion — an increase of nearly four times in just a decade.
China now has the second-largest individual-country debt securities market in the world and a market nearly three times the size of Japan’s $10.8 trillion.
A Highly Concentrated Global Market
Although debt securities are issued around the world, the market remains concentrated among a relatively small number of major economies.
The U.S., European Union and China account for approximately 75% of the global market. Add Japan, and those four markets represent more than 82% of worldwide debt securities.
There are signs, however, that the distribution is gradually changing. While the amount of outstanding U.S. debt securities increased during 2025, America’s share of the worldwide market declined from 40% to approximately 38%. Meanwhile, both China and the European Union increased their shares.
What Could This Mean for Investors?
The sheer size of the global debt market illustrates how deeply bonds and other fixed-income securities are connected to the global financial system.
Changes in interest rates, inflation expectations, government borrowing, credit conditions and economic growth can all influence bond prices and yields. Because the largest debt markets are concentrated among a handful of major economies, monetary and fiscal policy decisions in the U.S., Europe and China can have implications well beyond their borders.
For investors, understanding the changing composition of global debt markets can provide useful context when evaluating interest rates, credit conditions and opportunities across fixed-income markets.
Source: Visual Capitalist, based on data from the Bank for International Settlements via SIFMA.