national debt

Extracted Attributes

• Definition

  Total financial liabilities of a government, measured as debt instruments such as bonds and loans.

• Primary Cause

  Government deficits, where expenditures exceed revenues.

• Components (US)

  Debt held by the Public and Intragovernmental Debt.

• Debt Instruments

  Bonds, loans, debt securities, bills, Treasury notes, floating rate notes, Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS).

• Measurement Standard

  Expressed as a percentage of a nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for cross-country comparison.

• Intragovernmental Debt (US)

  Includes obligations to government programs such as Social Security Trust Fund.

• EU Stability and Growth Pact Target

  General government gross debt below 60% of GDP.

• US National Debt (as of 2025-06-26)

  $36,215,806,064,740.36

Timeline

• During the Revolutionary War, the U.S. accumulated over $75 million in national debt. (Source: Investopedia)

  1775-04-19

• By the end of the Civil War, the U.S. national debt increased to over $2 billion. (Source: Investopedia)

  1865-04-09

• Total U.S. national debt began expanding rapidly due to increased government spending and failure to raise taxes. (Source: Investopedia)

  2008-01-01

• The Social Security Trust Fund represented $2.82 trillion (~$3.45 trillion in 2023) of the U.S. intragovernmental debt. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2017-01-01

• The U.S. Total Public Debt Outstanding reached $36,215,806,064,740.36. (Source: U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data)

  2025-06-26

List of countries by government debt

This is a list of countries by government debt. Gross government debt is government financial liabilities that are debt instruments.: 81  A debt instrument is a financial claim that requires payment of interest and/or principal by the debtor to the creditor in the future. Examples include debt securities (such as bonds and bills), loans, and government employee pension obligations.: 207  Net debt equals gross debt minus financial assets that are debt instruments.: 208, s7.243  Net debt estimates are not always available since some government assets are difficult to value, such as loans made at concessional rates.: 208–209, s7.246  Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit occurs when a government's expenditures exceed revenues.: 79–82  In the list below, government debt is measured for the general government sector because the level of government responsible for programs (for example, health care) differs across countries, and the general government comprises central, state, provincial, regional, and local governments, and social security funds.: 18, s2.58, s2.59  To make the numbers comparable across countries of different size, government debt is measured as a percentage of a country's gross domestic product (GDP). For context on the magnitude of the debt numbers, European Union member countries have an agreement, the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), to maintain a general government gross debt of no more than 60% of GDP. The aim of the SGP is to prevent excessive debt burdens.

Web Search Results

• National debt of the United States - Wikipedia

  Image 8 Average interest rate on U.S. federal debt The "national debt of the United States" is the total national debt owed by the federal government of the United States to treasury security holders. The national debt at a given point in time is the face value of the then outstanding treasury securities that have been issued by the Treasury and other federal agencies. [...] U.S. debt from 1940 to 2021Q2. Red lines indicate the "debt held by the public" and black lines indicate the total national debt or gross public debt. The difference is the "intragovernmental debt," which includes obligations to government programs such as Social Security. Stated as a formula, National Debt = Debt held by the Public + Intragovernmental Debt. The second panel shows the two debt figures as a percentage of U.S. GDP (dollar value of U.S. economic production for that year). The top [...] The national debt can also be classified into marketable or non-marketable securities. Most of the marketable securities are Treasury notes, bills, and bonds held by investors and governments globally. The non-marketable securities are mainly the "government account series" owed to certain government trust funds such as the Social Security Trust Fund, which represented $2.82 trillion (~$3.45 trillion in 2023) in 2017.[\[23\]](

• Understanding the National Debt

  The national debt is the amount of money the federal government has borrowed to cover the outstanding balance of expenses incurred over time. In a given fiscal year (FY), when spending (ex. money for roadways) exceeds revenue (ex. money from federal income tax), a budget deficit results. To pay for this deficit, the federal government borrows money by selling marketable securities such as Treasury bonds, bills, notes,floating rate notes, and Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS). The [...] The national debt is composed of distinct types of debt, similar to an individual whose debt consists of a mortgage, car loan, and credit cards. The national debt can be broken down by whether it is non-marketable or marketable and whether it is debt held by the public or debt held by the government itself (known as intragovernmental). The national debt does not include debts carried by state and local governments, such as debt used to pay state-funded programs; nor does it include debts [...] The national debt ($36.21 T) is the total amount of outstanding borrowing by the U.S. Federal Government accumulated over the nation’s history. $ 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 , 0 0 0 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 0 0 0 $3 6,2 1 3,5 8 1,7 2 3,7 9 7 Updated daily from the Debt to the Penny dataset. Key Takeaways The National Debt Explained Funding Programs & Services The Growing National Debt Breaking Down the Debt The Debt Ceiling Tracking the Debt

• U.S. National Debt by Year - Investopedia

  The national debt is the total amount of money that a country owes to its creditors. The government spends money on programs such as healthcare, education, and Social Security, and accumulates debt by borrowing to cover the outstanding balance of expenses incurred over time. Major economic and political events, such as recessions, wars, or pandemics, can affect government spending. [...] National debt is the outstanding financial obligations of a country. The national debt of the United States is what the federal government owes to its creditors. The U.S. has always carried national debt, and the majority of presidents have added to it. However, total national debt has been expanding rapidly since 2008 due to a combination of increased government spending and failure to raise taxes. ### Key Takeaways ## Understanding the National Debt [...] As of May 2025, the U.S. national debt exceeded $36.2 trillion. ## The Growing National Debt The U.S. has carried debt since it was founded. In fact, the U.S. accumulated more than $75 million in debt during the Revolutionary War, and that increased to over $2 billion by the end of the Civil War in 1865.

• Debt to the Penny | U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data

  There are six datasets on Fiscal Data which include the national debt, which is referred to as Total Public Debt Outstanding (TPDO). TPDO is the sum of Debt Held by the Public and Intragovernmental (Intragov) Holdings. Some datasets include debt issued by the Federal Financing Bank (FFB). The datasets listed below only include debt issued by the Treasury Department. The list below provides information on where there are differences in debt calculations related to the national debt. [...] | 6/23/2025 | $28,890,044,591,558.48 | $7,323,763,835,441.08 | $36,213,808,426,999.56 | | 6/20/2025 | $28,900,785,723,043.42 | $7,315,087,705,792.44 | $36,215,873,428,835.86 | | 6/18/2025 | $28,905,136,181,836.44 | $7,309,570,954,397.39 | $36,214,707,136,233.83 | | 6/17/2025 | $28,884,822,109,662.55 | $7,330,575,632,185.21 | $36,215,397,741,847.76 | | 6/16/2025 | $28,907,522,231,455.10 | $7,307,147,612,603.45 | $36,214,669,844,058.55 | [...] | Record Date mm/dd/yyyy - mm/dd/yyyy | Debt Held by the Public ​ | Intragovernmental Holdings ​ | Total Public Debt Outstanding ​ | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 6/26/2025 | $28,887,012,425,608.74 | $7,328,793,639,131.62 | $36,215,806,064,740.36 | | 6/25/2025 | $28,888,758,862,953.29 | $7,325,110,705,163.71 | $36,213,869,568,117.00 | | 6/24/2025 | $28,860,859,190,127.59 | $7,353,694,147,625.66 | $36,214,553,337,753.25 |

• Historical Debt Outstanding | U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data

  There are six datasets on Fiscal Data which include the national debt, which is referred to as Total Public Debt Outstanding (TPDO). TPDO is the sum of Debt Held by the Public and Intragovernmental (Intragov) Holdings. Some datasets include debt issued by the Federal Financing Bank (FFB). The datasets listed below only include debt issued by the Treasury Department. The list below provides information on where there are differences in debt calculations related to the national debt.