Adding to national debt is an inevitable fact of being President of the United States. The extent to which debt rises under any sitting president depends not only on the policy and spending choices they have made, but also the choices made by presidents and congresses that have come before them.

Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush President Ronald Reagan increased the U.S. debt by around 1.86 trillion U.S. dollars, or 186.36 percent. This is often attributed to "Reaganomics," in which Reagan implemented significant supply-side economic policies in which he reduced government regulation, cut taxes, and tightened the money supply. Spending increased under President George W. Bush in light of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To finance the wars, President Bush chose to borrow the money, rather than use war bonds or increase taxes, unlike previous war-time presidents. Additionally, Bush introduced a number of tax cuts, and oversaw the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. Barack Obama President Obama inherited both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the financial crisis. The Obama administration also did not increase taxes to pay for the wars, and additionally passed expensive legislation to kickstart the economy following the economic crash, as well as the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The ACA expanded healthcare coverage to cover more than 30 million more Americans through programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Though controversial at the time, more than half of Americans have a favorable view of the ACA in 2023. Additionally, he signed legislation making the W. Bush-era tax cuts permanent.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Surplus or Deficit - from Oct 1980 to Jan 2025 about budget, federal, and USA.

In 2023, the U.S. government had a budget deficit of 1.69 trillion U.S. dollars. This is compared to 2000, when the government had a budget surplus of 0.24 trillion U.S. dollars.

U.S. Government budget

The government budget is a financial statement that demonstrates the government’s suggested revenues and spending for the financial year. Budget surpluses occur when income exceeds expenditures. Budget deficits occur when spending exceeds income. The budget balance of the U.S. government has fluctuated since 2016, and is expected to decrease slightly by 2026.

Military spending

Defense outlays in the United States amounted to 714 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. It is expected to continue to increase over the next several years. The United States currently has the largest defense budget in the world, and is the largest employer in the world. The military budget funds the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force. The amount of funding that goes towards the Department of Defense is heavily criticized by Democrats in the United States, because they believe that the funding should be more evenly distributed towards other social welfare programs such as public health insurance and education.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Surplus or Deficit [-] as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYFSGDA188S) from 1929 to 2024 about budget, federal, GDP, and USA.

The United States recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 122.30 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2023. This dataset provides - United States Government Debt To GDP - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In September 2023, the national debt of the United States had risen up to 33.17 trillion U.S. dollars. The national debt per capita had risen to 85,552 U.S. dollars in 2021. As represented by the statistic above, the public debt of the United States has been continuously rising.

U.S. public debt Public debt, also known as national and governmental debt, is the debt owed by a nations’ central government. In the case of the U.S., national debt is owed by the federal government to Treasury security holders. Generally speaking, government debt increases with government spending, and can be decreased through taxes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government increased spending significantly to finance virus infrastructure, aid, and various forms of economic relief.

International public debt

Venezuela leads the global ranking of the 20 countries with the highest public debt in 2021. In relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Venezuela's public debt amounted to around 306.95 percent of GDP. Eritrea was ranked fifth, with an estimated debt of 170 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.

The national debt of the United Kingdom is forecasted to grow from 87 percent in 2022 to 70 percent in 2027, in relation to the Gross Domestic Product. These figures include England, Wales, Scotland as well as Northern Ireland.

Greece had the highest national debt among EU countries as of the 4th quarter of 2020 in relation to the Gross Domestic Product. Germany ranked 13th in the EU, with its national debt amounting to 69 percent of GDP in the same time period.

Tuvalu was one of the 20 countries with the lowest national debt in 2021 in relation to the GDP, while Macao had an estimated level of national debt of zero percent, the lowest of any country. The data refer to the debts of the entire state, including the central government, the provinces, municipalities, local authorities and social insurance.

By 2034, the gross federal debt of the United States is projected to be about 54.39 trillion U.S. dollars. This would be an increase of around 21 trillion U.S. dollars from 2023, when the federal debt was around 33 trillion U.S. dollars.

The federal debt of the U.S.

The federal debt, also called the national debt or public debt, is the amount of debt held by the United States government. This debt may be to other countries, or to different departments within the government itself. The public debt of the United States has increased significantly over the past 30 years, as it was around 3.2 trillion U.S. dollars in 1990 and surpassed 30 trillion dollars for the first time in 2022. When broken down per capita, the national debt amounted to about 80,885 U.S. dollars of debt per person in the United States in 2021.

The problem of the federal debt

Over the past decade, the federal debt limit in the United States has increased significantly. The U.S. debt ceiling can only be changed by an act of Congress which is then signed by the president. The raising of the ceiling has become a recurring political issue in recent years, especially during times when the Presidency and chambers of Congress are controlled by different parties.

The debt ceiling is a tool that allows the Treasury to issue bonds without congressional approval, allowing for efficiency in the way that the government pays for programs and services. It is thought to be further valuable in that it keeps federal finances in check. However, when the two parties are unable to come to an agreement on raising the debt ceiling, the government comes to a shutdown because they can no longer fund themselves. The Republican Party in particular often positions itself against raising the federal debt ceiling, characterizing themselves as the party of fiscal conservativism. However, analyses have shown that both parties have contributed to the country's debt in almost equal measures.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Debt: Total Public Debt from Q1 1966 to Q4 2024 about public, debt, federal, government, and USA.

Total outstanding debt of the U.S. government reported daily. Includes a breakout of intragovernmental holdings (federal debt held by U.S. government) and debt held by the public (federal debt held by entities outside the U.S. government).

This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency, foreign policy, and the economy. In addition, respondents were asked to give their opinions of the current economy, and whether it was getting better or worse. Respondents were asked to rate the Democratic and Republican parties as favorable or unfavorable, to indicate whether they believed that Democrats or Republicans had clear plans for the United States and whether there were differences in what each party stood for, and to specify the most important difference between the two parties. Respondents were asked if they voted for United States House of Representatives, what issue was the most important in deciding their vote for House representatives, whether their vote for Congress was a vote for or against President Bush and his policies, whether they would vote for President Bush again in 2004, whether the Democrats should nominate Al Gore, whether they were pleased or disappointed by the outcome of the November elections, and whether it was better or worse to have a president from the same political party that controlled Congress. Respondents were asked to give their opinions on Republicans' control of Congress: whether the United States would be more secure from terrorist attacks, whether the economy would improve, whether taxes would increase or decrease, whether the respondents' families' financial situations would improve, whether big business would have more influence in Washington, whether federal courts would be more conservative, how likely war in Iraq was a result of Republican control in Congress, and whether environmental problems would improve. Respondents were asked how much they believed President Bush cared about their needs and problems and those of Blacks, whether they had confidence in President Bush to deal with an international crisis and the economy, whether his political views were liberal, moderate, or conservative, and whether the religious right had too much or too little influence on the Bush administration. Respondents were asked to give their opinions on tax issues, particularly on: whether the tax cuts were a good idea, whether the tax cuts made a difference in the amount of money retained after taxes, whether they believed the government could reduce the federal budget deficit while cutting taxes, whether they preferred a tax cut or reduced deficit, the effect of the tax cuts on the economy, who benefited most from the tax cuts, whether the tax cuts should be made permanent, and whether using the budget surplus to cut taxes was the best thing to do. Opinions were elicited regarding the environment: whether the federal government was doing enough regulating environmental and safety practices of business, whether requirements and standards can be set too high, whether or not the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska should be approved for oil drilling, whether producing energy or protecting the environment was more important, and what President Bush believed was more important. Respondents were asked whether Social Security would have money available upon their retirement, whether allowing individuals to invest their Social Security taxes on their own was a good idea, and whether the government should make up any losses incurred. On the subject of courts, respondents were asked whether newly court-appointed judges should be reviewed and confirmed by Congress, whether Congress should review and approve judges appointed by President Bush, and whether President Bush's nominees would be more conservative than tolerable. Regarding estate taxes, respondents were asked if they believed that there should be an estate tax for thelargest estates or no estate tax whatsoever, and whether they approved of President Bush's or the Democrats' proposal on estate taxes. Respondents were asked to give opinions on terrorism: whether the Bush administration had a clear plan, whether the government would fail to enact strong anti-terrorism laws or the new anti-terrorism laws would excessively restrict the average person's civil liberties, whether they were willing to allow government agencies to monitor phone calls and emails, and whether t

This poll, fielded August 30 - September 02, 2010, is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling his job as president, the economy, the federal budget deficit, and the situation in Iraq. Respondents were also asked whether they approved of the way the United States Congress was doing its job, whether they trusted the Democrats or the Republicans to do a better job in coping with the nation's problems in future years, handling the economy, health care, immigration issues, the situation in Afghanistan, taxes, and the federal budget deficit. Multiple questions addressed the 2010 congressional elections including whether respondents would vote for the Democratic or the Republican House of Representatives candidate in their district if the election were held that day, whether they thought most Republicans and Democrats in Congress deserved to be re-elected, whether they planned to re-elect their representative in Congress, and what respondents considered the single most important issue pertaining to their congressional vote. Information was collected on respondents' opinions on Islam, whether respondents had a good understanding of the beliefs of Islam, whether respondents personally knew anyone who was Muslim, whether they had some feelings of prejudice against Muslims, and whether they supported the building of a Muslim community center near the former World Trade Center site. Additional opinions were solicited about President Obama, the Tea Party movement, the state of the nation's economy, the war in Iraq, respondents' feelings about the way the federal government works, and national security. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level, household income, religious preference, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status, and whether respondents thought of themselves as born-again Christians.

President Chain Store reported TWD119.14B in Debt for its fiscal quarter ending in December of 2024. Data for President Chain Store | 2912 - Debt including historical, tables and charts were last updated by Trading Economics this last March in 2025.

The United States federal government budget has allotted around 75 billion dollars toward its 2025 civilian federal agency information technology budget. As leadership and government priorities change, the IT budgets allocated to different departments tend to follow suit. The Department of Energy's IT budget increased significantly by 37 percent compared to the previous year, with 5.5 billion U.S. dollars allocated in FY 2025. Similarly, the IT budget of the Department of Homeland security also increased by 23 percent compared to the previous year, to around 11 billion U.S. dollars for FY 2025. Meanwhile, the Office of Personnel Management saw its IT budget shrink the most among the civilian federal government agencies, decreasing by a staggering 64 percent compared to FY 2024. Since the 2022 federal budget, figures do not include the portion of the budget allocated to the Department of Defense or other classified IT spending. U.S. government budget In the United States, huge shares of government expenditures go towards the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Social Security Administration. Due in part to the country’s continually increasing budget, the government has run at an annual deficit since 2002, with its 2024 deficit estimated to over be around 1.9 trillion dollars. Cybersecurity budget One of the main facets of the U.S. government IT budget is spending related to cybersecurity. Over 12 billion U.S. dollars have been allocated towards cybersecurity in 2024. The Departments of Homeland Security and Justice have unsurprisingly had the highest cybersecurity budgets across all departments, given the sensitive nature of their work.

This poll, fielded July 9-12, 2009, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling the presidency, foreign policy, the situation in Iraq, health care and the economy, whether they thought things in the country were on the right track, their rating of the national economy and whether they thought the economy would get better. Respondents were also asked questions about the economic recession including how long they thought it would last, whether they believed the stimulus package made the economy better, whether the stimulus package would make the economy better in the future, whether the federal government should spend money to stimulate the national economy, whether it was acceptable to raise the deficit to create jobs and stimulate growth, and whether the federal budget deficit affected the respondent's family's financial situation. Several questions about health care were asked including whether President Obama would be able to bring about significant health care reform in his first term, whether respondents would favor government administered health insurance plans, and whether the respondent would consider public health care that anyone could join at any age. Opinions were sought about Sarah Palin, whether respondents heard about her resignation as Governor of Alaska, the reason she resigned, whether she would have the ability to be an effective president, whether the media was harder on her than other political figures, and whether respondents thought she would run for president in 2012. Other topics that were covered included, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, North Korea's development of weapons, Michael Jackson, the United States space program, marijuana, Barack Obama's Supreme Court Justice nominations, how the federal government should use taxpayer's money, how the deficit should be handled, personal finances, and job security. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, marital status, education level, household income, political party affiliation, political philosophy, perceived social class, religious preference, whether the respondent considered themselves to be a born-again Christian, and voter registration status and participation history.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Debt Held by the Public as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYGFGDQ188S) from Q1 1970 to Q4 2024 about public, debt, federal, GDP, and USA.

In October 2024, the public debt of the United States was around 35.46 trillion U.S. dollars, a slight decrease from the previous month. The U.S. public debt ceiling has become one of the most prominent political issues in the States in recent years, with debate over how to handle it causing political turmoil between Democrats and Republicans. The public debt The public debt of the United States has risen quickly since 2000, and in 2022 was more than five times higher than in 2000. The public debt is the total outstanding debt that is owed by the federal government. This figure comprises debt owed to the public (for example, through bonds) and intergovernmental debt (debt owed to various governmental departments), such as Social Security. Debt in Politics The debt issue has become a highly contentious topic within the U.S. government. Measures such as stimulus packages, social programs and tax cuts add to the public debt. Additionally, spending tends to peak during large global events, such as the Great Depression, the 2008 financial crisis, or the COVID-19 pandemic - all of which had a detrimental impact on the U.S. economy. Although both major political parties in the U.S. tend to blame one another for increases in the country's debt, a recent analysis found that both parties have contributed almost equally to national expenditure. Debate on raising the debt ceiling, or the amount of debt the federal government is allowed to have at any one time, was a leading topic in the government shutdown in October 2013. Despite plans from both Democrats and Republicans on how to lower the national debt, it is only expected to increase over the next decade.

This poll, fielded April 5-12, 2010, is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way that Barack Obama was handling his job as president, the economy, health care, and the federal budget deficit, what they liked best and least about Obama, whether they thought things in the country were going in the right direction, and what they thought was the most important problem facing the country. Information was collected on whether respondents approved or disapproved of the way Congress was handling its job, whether they approved or disapproved of the way their representative in Congress was handling their job, whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of President Obama, how respondents would rate the national economy, and who they thought was mostly to blame for the state of the national economy. Respondents were queried on whether they thought that the government's stimulus package made the economy better or worse, whether they thought that the country needed a third political party, whether they would rather have a smaller government with fewer services or a bigger government providing more services, how they felt things were going in Washington, DC, whether they thought the federal government should spend money to create jobs even if it means increasing the budget deficit, and whether they would rather reduce the federal budget deficit or cut taxes. Respondents were also asked who they thought was to blame for the current federal budget deficit, whether they thought providing government money to banks and other financial institutions was necessary to get the economy out of a recession, whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, John McCain, George Bush, Ron Paul, Glen Beck, and Sarah Palin. Information was collected on what political figure the respondents admired most, whether they thought Sarah Palin would have the ability to be an effective president, whether they thought President Obama understands the need and problems of people like themselves, whether respondents thought he was more of a liberal, a moderate, or a conservative, whether they thought his policies were moving the country more towards socialism, whether they thought he favored a particular race over another, and whether they thought the Obama Administration had raised or lowered taxes for most Americans. Respondents were asked whether they thought that the federal government should require nearly all Americans to have health insurance, whether they thought it would be a good idea to raise income taxes on households that make more than $250,000 a year in order to help provide health insurance for people who do not already have it, whether they approved or disapproved of requiring health insurance companies to cover anyone who applies regardless of whether they have an existing medical condition, and whether they thought that the programs such as Social Security and Medicare are worth the cost of those programs for taxpayers. Respondents were queried on whether they thought legal immigration into the United States should be kept at its presents level, increased, or decreased, how serious a problem they thought illegal immigration was, whether they thought that global warming was causing a serious environmental problem, whether they thought gay couples should be allowed to marry, whether they thought abortion should be legal, whether they thought gun control law should be made more strict, what socialism means to them, and whether they thought it was ever justified for citizens to take violent action against the government. Respondents were also asked a number of questions about the Tea Party movement, including how much have they heard about it, whether they had a favorable opinion of it, whether they supported it, and whether they thought the Tea Party movement generally reflected the views of most Americans. Finally, respondents were asked if they were ever active in a political campaign, whether they purchased gold bars or coins in the past year, what political party they usually vote for, what news network they watched most, how concerned were they that they or someone in their household would lose their job in the next year, whe

This poll, fielded December 18, 2003, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency, foreign policy, and the economy, as well as their views on the situation in Iraq, education, prescription drug benefits for the elderly, the cost, availability, and coverage of health insurance, the federal budget deficit, the United States campaign against terrorism, and Medicare. Those surveyed were asked about their voter registration status and who they would vote for if the 2004 presidential election were to take place that day. Questions sought respondent views on whether they trusted either former Vermont Governor Howard Dean or President Bush to handle national affairs, the war on terrorism, health care, Social Security, and education, and whether they would vote for a candidate who supported or opposed the war with Iraq and the recent tax cuts. A series of questions about the Iraq War focused on whether the war was worth fighting, if the war with Iraq had made the United States safer, whether President Bush had a clear plan for Iraq, and whether the Iraq War would be justified only if weapons of mass destruction were found. Those queried were also asked how the United States had changed since President Bush had been in office. Questions regarding the 2004 Democratic presidential race for the White House asked respondents who they preferred to see as the Democratic presidential candidate, what they considered was the most important issue in deciding which Democratic candidate to vote for, and how they would assess Howard Dean's personal and political qualities. Respondents were also asked how closely they followed the news on Medicare, and whether they approved or disapproved of recent changes made in the Medicare system. Demographic information includes party identification, political ideology, highest level of education completed, religion, age, labor union membership status, race, total combined income, Hispanic nationality, and Internet usage.

Graph and download economic data for Gross Federal Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (GFDGDPA188S) from 1939 to 2023 about gross, debt, federal, GDP, and USA.

This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency, the campaign against terror, foreign policy, the economy, and the general direction of the country, as well as their views of Vice President Dick Cheney, Congress, and Senate majority leader Tom Daschle. Respondents were asked for their opinions of the most important issue facing the country, the condition of the economy and whether it was changing, how much they trusted the government, what size government was ideal, whether Bush would compromise with Democrats in Congress to get things done, whether Democrats would compromise with Bush, whether either of them should compromise, and which one would more likely balance the budget. Respondents' opinions were probed regarding the Republican party, the Democratic party, and which was more likely to ensure prosperity, improve education, properly handle Social Security, ensure a strong military, ensure fair taxes, improve the health care system, protect the environment, balance the federal budget, deal with terrorism, and properly spend taxpayer money. Respondents were then asked about changes needed to the health care system, the importance of reducing prescription drug costs for the elderly, the importance of protecting the environment, how much Bush really controlled his administration, how respondents viewed his political philosophy and leadership qualities, their confidence in his abilities to make good decisions about the economy, how much he cared about people like them, which social class was favored by his administration, and how much big business influenced the Bush administration and Congress. Opinions were elicited about the state of the federal budget, how the recent tax cuts affected the economy, how fair the tax cuts were, whether the tax cuts were the best use of the surplus, whether tax cuts were worth the risk of a budget deficit, why a deficit was projected, whether a deficit was a good or bad thing, whether the war on terrorism was hurting domestic programs, whether tax cuts were hurting domestic programs, whether a candidate that advocated a balanced budget or tax cuts was preferred, and the bankruptcy of the energy trading Enron Corporation. Respondents were queried about who they thought had more seats in the House of Representatives, whether it mattered which political party controlled Congress, whether it was right to attack Afghanistan and countries hiding terrorists, how confident respondents were in the United States government's ability to capture terrorist Osama Bin Laden, the status of the war in Afghanistan, and the likelihood of another terrorist attack in the United States. Additional topics covered the state of respondents' personal finances, whether they would watch the January 29, 2002, State of the Union Address, and their voting intentions in the 2002 congressional elections. Background information on respondents includes gender, marital status, political party, political orientation, voter registration and participation history, children in household, religion, education, age, race, Hispanic origin, and household income.