December 14, 2006: Santa Claus Is Chinese, Or, Why China Is Rising And The United States Is Declining

US National Debt

U.S. National Debt, 1930-2006
Year	Debt
	Billion Dollars
1930	17
1931	19
1932	23
1933	27
1934	29
1935	34
1936	36
1937	37
1938	40
1939	43
1940	49
1941	72
1942	137
1943	201
1944	259
1945	269
1946	258
1947	252
1948	253
1949	257
1950	255
1951	259
1952	266
1953	275
1954	279
1955	281
1956	277
1957	275
1958	283
1959	291
1960	290
1961	296
1962	303
1963	309
1964	318
1965	321
1966	329
1967	345
1968	358
1969	368
1970	389
1971	424
1972	449
1973	470
1974	493
1975	577
1976	654
1977	719
1978	789
1979	845
1980	930
1981	1,029
1982	1,197
1983	1,411
1984	1,663
1985	1,946
1986	2,125
1987	2,350
1988	2,602
1989	2,857
1990	3,233
1991	3,665
1992	4,065
1993	4,411
1994	4,693
1995	4,974
1996	5,225
1997	5,413
1998	5,526
1999	5,656
2000	5,674
2001	5,807
2002	6,228
2003	6,783
2004	7,379
2005	7,933
2006	8,507
Note: Prices not adjusted for inflation.
Source: Compiled by Earth Policy Institute from U.S. Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt, "Historical Debt Outstanding - Annual" and "The Debt to the Penny and Who Holds It," tables at www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opd.htm#history, updated 13 October 2005 and 4 December 2006, respectively.

Major Foreign Holders of U.S. Treasury Securities, September 2006
Country	Amount
	Billion Dollars
Japan	639
China	342
United Kingdom (1)	208
Oil Exporters (2)	103
Korea	69
Taiwan	65
Caribbean Banking Centers (3)	53
Germany	52
Canada	50
Hong Kong	50
Other Countries	504
Total	2,135
Notes: (1) United Kingdom includes Channel Islands and Isle of Man. (2) Oil exporters include Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria. (3) Caribbean Banking Centers include Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Netherlands Antilles, and Panama.
Source: U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve Board, “Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities (in Billions of Dollars),” table at www.ustreas.gov/tic/mfh.txt, 16 November 2006.

U.S. Balance of Trade in Goods, 1960-2006

U.S. Balance of Trade in Goods, 1960-2006
Year	Exports	Imports	Trade Balance
	Billion Dollars
1960	20	15	5
1961	20	15	6
1962	21	16	5
1963	22	17	5
1964	26	19	7
1965	26	22	5
1966	29	25	4
1967	31	27	4
1968	34	33	1
1969	36	36	1
1970	42	40	3
1971	43	46	-2
1972	49	56	-6
1973	71	70	1
1974	98	104	-6
1975	107	98	9
1976	115	124	-9
1977	121	152	-31
1978	142	176	-34
1979	184	212	-28
1980	224	250	-26
1981	237	265	-28
1982	211	248	-36
1983	202	269	-67
1984	220	332	-112
1985	216	338	-122
1986	223	368	-145
1987	250	410	-160
1988	320	447	-127
1989	360	478	-118
1990	387	498	-111
1991	414	491	-77
1992	440	537	-97
1993	457	589	-132
1994	503	669	-166
1995	575	749	-174
1996	612	803	-191
1997	678	876	-198
1998	670	917	-247
1999	684	1,030	-346
2000	772	1,224	-452
2001	719	1,146	-427
2002	682	1,165	-482
2003	713	1,261	-547
2004	808	1,473	-655
2005	895	1,677	-783
2006	1,013	1,862	-849
Note: 2006 numbers are Earth Policy Institute estimates based on data from January - September 2006.
Source: Compiled by Earth Policy Institute from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division, "U.S. Trade in Goods and Services - Balance of Payments (BOP) Basis," at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/historical/gands.txt, 9 June 2006; “U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services,” table in “U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, September 2006,” press release (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis), 9 November 2006.

U.S. Balance of Trade in Goods with China, 1985-2006
Year	Exports	Imports	Trade Balance
	Million Dollars
1985	3,856	3,862	-6
1986	3,106	4,771	-1,665
1987	3,497	6,294	-2,796
1988	5,022	8,511	-3,489
1989	5,755	11,990	-6,234
1990	4,806	15,237	-10,431
1991	6,278	18,969	-12,691
1992	7,419	25,728	-18,309
1993	8,763	31,540	-22,777
1994	9,282	38,787	-29,505
1995	11,754	45,543	-33,790
1996	11,993	51,513	-39,520
1997	12,862	62,558	-49,696
1998	14,241	71,169	-56,927
1999	13,111	81,788	-68,677
2000	16,185	100,018	-83,833
2001	19,182	102,278	-83,096
2002	22,128	125,193	-103,065
2003	28,368	152,436	-124,068
2004	34,744	196,682	-161,938
2005	41,925	243,470	-201,545
2006	53,648	275,334	-221,686
Note: 2006 numbers are Earth Policy Institute estimates based on data from January - September 2006.
Source: Compiled by Earth Policy Institute from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division, Data Dissemination Branch, "Trade in Goods (Imports, Exports and Trade Balance) with China," at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html, updated 9 November 2006.