Kuwait’s Holdings of US Government Debt Reach a Record 69.23 Billion Dollars, Up 19.12 Percent in a Year
Kuwait held 69.23 billion dollars of US government debt at the end of July, the highest monthly figure in the published record and 11.11 billion dollars more than a year earlier, a rise of 19.12 percent on our calculation. The figure comes from the Treasury International Capital data released on 16 September, and it sits in the all countries table rather than the Major Foreign Holders table, which lists only the 20 largest holders and puts Kuwait inside its “all other” line.
Almost all of it is long dated
The holding is overwhelmingly long term. Long dated securities came to 66.92 billion dollars in July against 2.31 billion dollars of short dated bills, so 96.7 percent of the total sits at the long end on our calculation. A year earlier the split was 57.10 billion and 1.02 billion, meaning the bill holding has more than doubled while the long dated book grew 17.2 percent, both on our calculation.
| Measure | July 2026 | July 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Total holdings | 69.23 | 58.12 |
| Long term securities | 66.92 | 57.10 |
| Short term bills | 2.31 | 1.02 |
Billions of dollars, as published in the all countries table. The monthly rise from June was 0.42 billion dollars, or 0.60 percent on our calculation.
Faster than the market, and faster than the neighbours
Total foreign holdings of that debt came to 9,248 billion dollars in July against 9,110 billion a year earlier, a rise of 1.52 percent on our calculation. Kuwait’s holding grew more than 12 times as fast on our calculation. Among the Gulf states the table names, Saudi Arabia held 142.43 billion dollars against 131.64 billion a year earlier, a rise of 8.19 percent, and the United Arab Emirates 110.14 billion against 107.70 billion, a rise of 2.27 percent, both on our calculation. Qatar, Bahrain and Oman are not printed as separate lines.
| Holder | July 2026 | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 142.43 | +8.19% |
| United Arab Emirates | 110.14 | +2.27% |
| Kuwait | 69.23 | +19.12% |
| All foreign holders | 9,248.13 | +1.52% |
Billions of dollars. Percentage changes are our calculation from the published levels.
Why it matters: For Kuwait, this is the clearest public read on Treasury holdings attributed to Kuwaiti holders, and the direction is unambiguous: up 19.12 percent in a year against a market that grew 1.52 percent, so Kuwait is adding while the aggregate barely moves. On our reading the composition matters as much as the level, because a book that is 96.7 percent long dated carries far more duration than a bill heavy position would. The custodial basis of the data is the limit on how far any of this can be read: the table records the country of the custodian, not the beneficial owner, so it cannot be treated as a statement of sovereign asset allocation. Kuwait ranks 28th of the 60 countries with a printed figure on our calculation, which is a rank within what the table prints rather than an official ranking, and 3rd among the Gulf states the table shows.
Outlook: August data is scheduled for 16 October. The word record is tested against what is published: the table carries monthly figures back to January 2020, in which July 2026 is the highest, and the older holders file, which runs from 2012 in billions, has Kuwait’s previous high at 66.1 billion dollars in December 2025. Nothing earlier than 2012 is published.
Sources: US Department of the Treasury.
