Across the world, bonds issued by countries, municipal bodies, corporations and financial institutions are traded. At the end of 2006, the market was worth around 47 trillion dollars. About half of that value is made up of government bonds.
Table 28
The Bond Market, Divided Regios – 2009.The table shows how the market is split according to regions.
| Region | Bond Value (in billions of dollars) |
| USA | 25.1 |
| Japan | 11.5 |
| Italy | 3.7 |
| France | 3.2 |
| Germany | 2.8 |
| …. | … |
| World | 64.2 |
The American Bond Market
The United States has the largest, most developed market in the world. The different types of bonds that are traded there can be split into the following sectors.
- Treasury Securities.
- Corporate Bonds.
- Municipal Bonds.
- Mortgage Backed Securities.
Table 29
The American Bond Market, Divided According to Sector- January 2003
| Sector | Bond Value (in billions of dollars) |
| Treasury Securities | 3 |
| Corporate Bonds | 4 |
| Municipal Bonds | 2 |
| Mortgage Backed Securities | 4 |
