US Debt

Extracted Attributes

National debt of the United States

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. The US Department of the Treasury publishes a daily total of the national debt, which as of November 2025 is $38 trillion. Treasury reports: "The Debt to the Penny dataset provides information about the total outstanding public debt and is reported each day. Debt to the Penny is made up of intragovernmental holdings and debt held by the public, including securities issued by the U.S. Treasury. Total public debt outstanding is composed of Treasury Bills, Notes, Bonds, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), Floating Rate Notes (FRNs), and Federal Financing Bank (FFB) securities, as well as Domestic Series, Foreign Series, State and Local Government Series (SLGS), U.S. Savings Securities, and Government Account Series (GAS) securities." Related terms such as "national deficit" and "national surplus" refer to the federal government budget balance from year to year and not the cumulative amount of debt held. In a deficit year, the national debt increases as the government needs to borrow funds to finance the deficit. In a surplus year, the debt decreases as more money is received than spent, enabling the government to reduce the debt by buying back Treasury securities or by issuing less new debt than old debt it redeems at maturity. Broadly, US government debt increases as a result of government spending and decreases from tax or other funding receipts, both of which fluctuate during a fiscal year. The aggregate, gross amount that Treasury can borrow is limited by the United States debt ceiling. There are two components of gross national debt: "Debt held by the public" – such as Treasury securities held by investors outside the federal government, including those held by individuals, corporations, the Federal Reserve, and foreign, state and local governments. "Debt held by government accounts" or "intragovernmental debt" – is non-marketable Treasury securities held in accounts of programs administered by the federal government, such as the Social Security Trust Fund. Debt held by government accounts represents the cumulative surpluses, including interest earnings, of various government programs that have been invested in Treasury securities. Historically, the U.S. public debt as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) increases during wars and recessions and then subsequently declines. For instance, most recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government spent trillions in virus aid and economic relief. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the budget deficit for fiscal year 2020 would increase to $3.3 trillion or 16% GDP, more than triple that of 2019 and the largest as a percentage of GDP since 1945. In December 2021, debt held by the public was estimated at 96.19% of GDP, and approximately 33% of this public debt was owned by foreigners (government and private). The ratio of debt to GDP may decrease as a result of a government surplus or via growth of GDP and inflation. The CBO estimated in February 2024 that Federal debt held by the public is projected to rise from 99 percent of GDP in 2024 to 116 percent in 2034, and would continue to grow if current laws generally remained unchanged. Over that period, the growth of interest costs and mandatory spending outpaces the growth of revenues and the economy, driving up debt. If those factors persist beyond 2034, pushing federal debt higher still, to 172 percent of GDP in 2054. The United States has the largest external debt in the world. The total amount of U.S. Treasury securities held by foreign entities in December 2021 was $7.7 trillion, up from $7.1 trillion in December 2020. Total US federal government debt breached the $30 trillion mark for the first time in history in February 2022. In December 2023, total federal debt was $33.1 trillion; $26.5 trillion held by the public and $12.1 trillion in intragovernmental debt. The annualized cost of servicing this debt was $726 billion in July 2023, which accounted for 14% of the total federal spending. Additionally, in recent decades, aging demographics and rising healthcare costs have led to concern about the long-term sustainability of the federal government's fiscal policies. In February 2024, the total federal government debt rose to $34.4 trillion, after increasing by approximately $1 trillion during each of two separate 100-day periods since the previous June. In 2024, federal interest payments on the national debt surpassed spending on both Medicare and national defense. On October 23, 2025, the National debt reached $38 trillion, a new high. The milestone was achieved amidst a Federal government shutdown, which by then had been going on for 23 days. The shutdown caused delays in economic activity and the postponement of financial decisions, pushing the number even further up. An increase of $1 trillion, from $37 to $38 trillion, was recorded between Aug. 12 and Oct. 23 of the same year, a time interval of merely 71 days. In addition, more than $382 billion of debt were added in the first 23 days of the government shutdown alone, according to the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), translating to an average rate of increase of $192,200 per second.

Web Search Results

• National debt of the United States - Wikipedia

  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. [...] The federal debt at the end of the 2018/19 fiscal year (ended September 30, 2019) was $22.7 trillion (~$27.8 trillion in 2024). The portion that is held by the public was $16.8 trillion. Neither figure includes approximately $2.5 trillion owed to the government. Interest on the debt was $404 billion. [...] The United States has the largest external debt in the world. The total amount of U.S. Treasury securities held by foreign entities in December 2021 was $7.7 trillion, up from $7.1 trillion in December 2020. Total US federal government debt breached the $30 trillion mark for the first time in history in February 2022. In December 2023, total federal debt was $33.1 trillion; $26.5 trillion held by the public and $12.1 trillion in intragovernmental debt. The annualized cost of servicing this debt

• National Debt Hits $38.40 Trillion, Increased $2.23 Trillion Year over ...

  As of December 3, 2025, total gross national debt is $38.40 trillion. Relative to one year ago, total gross national debt is $2.23 trillion higher; relative to five years ago, it is $11.00 trillion higher. Over the past year, the rate of increase averaged $6.12 billion per day, $255.04 million per hour, $4.25 million per minute, or $70,843.42 per second. [...] The increase in gross national debt over the past year amounts to $6,566.84 per person or $16,574.81 per household while total gross national debt amounts to $112,881 per person or $284,914 per household. Assuming the average daily rate of growth over the past three years continues, the U.S. will reach $39 trillion by approximately March 06, 2026. At that rate, an increase of another trillion dollars would be reached in approximately 157 days. [...] WASHINGTON, DC –Today, the Joint Economic Committee released its Monthly Debt Update for December, including the national debt’s interest rate and composition as of December 3, 2025.

• United States Government Debt - Trading Economics

  Government Debt in the United States increased to 38396211 USD Million in November from 38040094 USD Million in October of 2025. Government Debt in the United States averaged 6210664.88 USD Million from 1942 until 2025, reaching an all time high of 38396211.00 USD Million in November of 2025 and a record low of 60000.00 USD Million in January of 1942. source: U.S. Department of the Treasury USD Million 1Y3Y5Y10YMAX Export API OK 2025 Mar May Jul Sep Nov [...] []( United States Government Debt In the United States, government debt refers to federal debt held by individuals, corporations, state or local governments, foreign governments, and other entities outside of the United States Government less Federal Financing Bank securities.. | | Actual | Previous | Highest | Lowest | Dates | Unit | Frequency | | --- --- --- --- | | 38396211.00 | 38040094.00 | 38396211.00 | 60000.00 | 1942 - 2025 | USD Million | Monthly | Current prices, NSA | [...] | Government Debt to GDP | 124.30 | 122.30 | percent of GDP | Dec 2024 | | Government Revenues | 336001.00 | 404371.00 | USD Million | Nov 2025 | | Government Spending | 3993.00 | 3993.90 | USD Billion | Jun 2025 | | Government Spending to GDP | 39.70 | 34.38 | percent of GDP | Dec 2024 | | Holidays | | | | | | Military Expenditure | 997309.00 | 916014.70 | USD Million | Dec 2024 |

• U.S. hits $38 trillion in debt, after the fastest accumulation of $1 ...

  WASHINGTON (AP) — In the midst of a federal government shutdown, the U.S. government’s gross national debt surpassed $38 trillion Wednesday, a record number that highlights the accelerating accumulation of debt on America’s balance sheet. It’s also the fastest accumulation of a trillion dollars in debt outside of the COVID-19 pandemic — the U.S. hit $37 trillion in gross national debt in August this year. WATCH: How debt interest is becoming a bigger problem for the U.S. government [...] The Joint Economic Committee estimates that the total national debt has grown by $69,713.82 per second for the past year. Michael Peterson, chair and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, said in a statement that “reaching $38 trillion in debt during a government shutdown is the latest troubling sign that lawmakers are not meeting their basic fiscal duties.”

• Understanding the National Debt | U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data

  Inflation Adjusted - 2025 Dollars 2025 Fiscal Year $37.64 T Total Debt Visit the Historical Debt Outstanding dataset to explore and download this data. The inflation data is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last Updated: September 30, 2025 Over the past 100 years, the U.S. federal debt has increased from $381 B in 1925 to $37.64 T in 2025. [...] The U.S. has carried debt since its inception. Debts incurred during the American Revolutionary War amounted to over $75 million by January 1, 1791. Over the next 45 years, the debt continued to grow until 1835 when it notably shrank due to the sale of federally-owned lands and cuts to the federal budget. Shortly thereafter, an economic depression caused the debt to again grow into the millions. The debt grew over 4,000% through the course of the American Civil War, increasing from $65 million [...] Understanding the National Debt | U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data Image 1 Image 2Image 3: Small U.S. flag An official website of the U.S. government Here's how you know Image 5 Image 6: Fiscal Data logo Topics Tools Dataset Search Resources About Us Menu Overview Overview Revenue Spending Deficit Debt What is the national debt? The national debt ($38.38 T) is the total amount of outstanding borrowing by the U.S. Federal Government accumulated over the nation’s history.