ELI5 National Debt - who do countries owe when they are in debt?

ELI5 National Debt - who do countries owe when they are in debt?

Update: 2025-12-09
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If every major country is in billions of debt, where are they borrowing from? Who exactly do they owe? Are there any consequences for them being in debt? Why is it a problem when it gets large? Why was Greece in trouble, while Japan seemingly has high debt but is fine?

 

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Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community, and specifically the following reddit users whose questions and responses formed the basis of this conversation: emils5, poomanshu, potato_octopi, cop-disliker69, reshkayden, agoraiosbum, cheesewithwhine, aythekay & anjabe96

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ELI5 National Debt - who do countries owe when they are in debt?

ELI5 National Debt - who do countries owe when they are in debt?

ELI5 Explain Like I'm Five Podcast