As one of the world’s largest capital markets, debt securities have grown tremendously over the decades. Fueling this growth are government and corporate debt sales across major economies and emerging markets. Like central banks around the world, commercial banks are key players in bond markets. This is because commercial banks will reinvest client deposits into interest-bearing securities. Total debt numbers here include both domestic and international debt securities in each particular country. International debt securities are issued outside the local market of the country where the borrower resides and cover Eurobonds as well as foreign bonds but exclude negotiable loans.
Here are the top 20 largest bond markets in the world.
| Rank | Country | Total debt |
| 1. | United States | $51.3 trillion |
| 2. | China | $20.9 trillion |
| 3. | Japan | $11.0 trillion |
| 4. | France | $4.4 trillion |
| 5. | United Kingdom | $4.3 trillion |
| 6. | Canada | $4.0 trillion |
| 7. | Germany | $3.7 trillion |
| 8. | Italy | $2.9 trillion |
| 9. | Cayman Islands | $2.7 trillion |
| 10. | Brazil | $2.4 trillion |
| 11. | South Korea | $2.2 trillion |
| 12. | Australia | $2.2 trillion |
| 13. | Netherlands | $1.9 trillion |
| 14. | Spain | $1.9 trillion |
| 15. | India | $1.3 trillion |
| 16. | Ireland | $1.0 trillion |
| 17. | Mexico | $1.0 trillion |
| 18. | Luxembourg | $900 billion |
| 19. | Belgium | $700 billion |
| 20. | Russia | $700 billion |
