interest on the debt (including both public and intragovernmental amounts) increased from $322 billion to $454 billion annually. the share of public debt owned by foreigners increased significantly from 31% in june 2001 to 50% in june 2008, with the dollar balance owed to foreigners increasing from $1.0 trillion to $2.6 trillion. this also significantly increased the interest payments sent overseas, from approximately $50 billion in 2001 to $121 billion during 2008.