Chart assignment

Charts to read and discuss

Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.

  1. Which countries own the most US debt?
  2. How has the world's population grown since 1960?

Chart 1 of 2 · Federal budget

Which countries own the most US debt?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

In August 2026 Japan held $1.07 trillion of U.S. Treasury securities, the most of any country, followed by United Kingdom ($1.01 trillion) and China, Mainland ($591 billion). Holdings are counted where the securities are kept, so financial centers such as Belgium, Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands rank high partly because they hold them for owners elsewhere. Treasury lists its 20 largest holders.

Questions to discuss

  1. In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
  2. Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
  3. Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?

Source: U.S. Treasury, Treasury International Capital (TIC) System, Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Aug 31, 2026

Open the chart and its numbers

Chart 2 of 2 · World

How has the world's population grown since 1960?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

The world had 8.22 billion people in 2025, about 2.7 times the 3.02 billion of 1960. It passed 8 billion in 2023. Figures are mid-year estimates from the United Nations, which revises them as new censuses come in.

How to read this chart

Each point is the number of people alive in the world in the middle of that year, estimated by the United Nations. The axis starts at zero, so the height of the line shows the true size. Look at how steep the line is to see how fast the population grew.

Questions to discuss

  1. Judging from the chart, about how many years did it take the world to add its most recent billion people?
  2. Is the line getting steeper or flatter in recent years? What does that tell you about the growth rate?
  3. These numbers are estimates that the UN revises. Why is it hard to count every person on Earth?

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators: Population, total (CC BY 4.0 (credit the World Bank)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025

Open the chart and its numbers

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