The United States recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 124.30 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024. This dataset provides - United States Government Debt To GDP - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Debt Held by the Public as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYGFGDQ188S) from Q1 1970 to Q1 2025 about public, debt, federal, GDP, and USA.

Key information about United States Government Debt: % of GDP

• United States Government debt accounted for 124.0 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Dec 2024, compared with the ratio of 123.1 % in the previous quarter.
• US government debt to GDP ratio data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1969 to Dec 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 130.4 % in Mar 2021 and a record low of 31.8 % in Sep 1974.

CEIC calculates quarterly Government Debt as % of Nominal GDP from monthly Government Debt and rolling sum of quarterly Nominal GDP. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service provides Government Debt in USD. The Bureau of Economic Analysis provides Nominal GDP in USD. Government Debt covers Central Government only.


Related information about United States Government Debt: % of GDP

• In the latest reports, US National Government Debt reached 36,220.2 USD bn in Jan 2025.
• The country's Nominal GDP reached 6,632.4 USD bn in Mar 2023.

Graph and download economic data for Gross Federal Debt Held by the Public as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYPUGDA188S) from 1939 to 2023 about public, gross, debt, federal, GDP, and USA.

The statistic shows the national debt of the United States from 2019 to 2022 in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP), with projections up until 2029. In 2022, the national debt of the United States was at around 120.03 percent of the gross domestic product. See the US GDP for further information. US finances There has been a dramatic increase in the public debt of the United States since 1990, although the month-to-month change has been quite stable over the last few months. Public debt is defined as the amount of money borrowed by a country to cover budget deficits. A ranking of individual state debt in the United States shows that California is leading by a clear margin, with more than double the amount of runner-up New York. Vermont, North Dakota and South Dakota are the states with the lowest amount of debt. Even before the recession of 2008, the national debt of the United States had been increasing steadily and excessively, and it is predicted to rise even further. Budget cuts and fewer job opportunities as a result of the crisis are taking their toll on the American economy, which is still recovering. Trade figures as well as unemployment are still below average. Subsequently, the national debt and the national debt of the United States per capita have more or less quadrupled since the 1990s. Interestingly, the United States is not even among the top ten of countries with the highest public debt in relation to gross domestic product in international comparison. Japan, Greece and Italy – among others – report far higher figures than the United States.

United States - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product was 120.80844 % of GDP in January of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product reached a record high of 132.81490 in April of 2020 and a record low of 30.60333 in July of 1981. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Key information about United States Total Debt: % of GDP

• United States Total Debt accounted for 722.0 % of the country's GDP in 2024, compared with the ratio of 722.0 % in the previous quarter.
• US Total Debt: % of GDP data is updated quarterly, available from Dec 1951 to Sep 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 834.9 % in Mar 2021 and a record low of 309.4 % in Jun 1953.

CEIC calculates quarterly Total Debt as % of Nominal GDP from quarterly Total Debt and quarterly Nominal GDP. Total Debt is calculated as sum of Liabilities for NonFinancial Business, Federal Government, State and Local Government, Households & Nonprofit Organizations and Financial Business less Mutual Fund Shares. Federal Reserve Board provides Total Debt in local currency. Bureau of Economic Analysis provides Nominal GDP in local currency.

Interactive chart of historical data comparing the level of gross domestic product (GDP) with Federal Debt.

The ratio of national debt to gross domestic product (GDP) of Mexico amounted to about 58.43 percent in 2024. From 1996 to 2024, the ratio rose by approximately 15.89 percentage points, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend. Between 2024 and 2030, the ratio will rise by around 2.88 percentage points, showing an overall upward trend with periodic ups and downs.The general government gross debt consists of all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest and/or principal by the debtor to the creditor at a date or dates in the future. Here it is depicted in relation to the country's GDP, which refers to the total value of goods and services produced during a year.

United States Gross Federal Debt: Held by the Public: Other: as % of GDP data was reported at 78.900 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 73.600 % for 2022. United States Gross Federal Debt: Held by the Public: Other: as % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 39.500 % from Sep 1940 (Median) to 2023, with 84 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 95.600 % in 1946 and a record low of 17.700 % in 1974. United States Gross Federal Debt: Held by the Public: Other: as % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of Management and Budget. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.F072: Federal Debt: Annual.

United States Gross Federal Debt: Annual: Percentage of GDP data was reported at 122.300 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 121.900 % for 2022. United States Gross Federal Debt: Annual: Percentage of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 59.500 % from Sep 1940 (Median) to 2023, with 84 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 126.300 % in 2020 and a record low of 31.800 % in 1981. United States Gross Federal Debt: Annual: Percentage of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of Management and Budget. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.F072: Federal Debt: Annual.

Content

More details about each file are in the individual file descriptions.

Context

This is a dataset from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis hosted by the Federal Reserve Economic Database (FRED). FRED has a data platform found here and they update their information according to the frequency that the data updates. Explore the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis using Kaggle and all of the data sources available through the St. Louis Fed organization page!

• Update Frequency: This dataset is updated daily.

Acknowledgements

This dataset is maintained using FRED's API and Kaggle's API.

Cover photo by Noah Silliman on Unsplash
Unsplash Images are distributed under a unique Unsplash License.

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.

Government Debt in the United States decreased to 36211469 USD Million in June from 36215818 USD Million in May of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Government Debt- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Key information about Japan Government Debt: % of GDP

• Japan Government debt accounted for 216.2 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Dec 2024, compared with the ratio of 217.2 % in the previous quarter.
• Japan government debt to GDP ratio data is updated quarterly, available from Dec 1994 to Dec 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 225.8 % in Mar 2021 and a record low of 55.9 % in Dec 1994.

CEIC calculates quarterly Government Debt as % of Nominal GDP from monthly Government Debt and rolling sum of quarterly Nominal GDP. The Bank of Japan provides Government Debt in local currency. The Economic and Social Research Institute provides Nominal GDP in local currency. Government Debt covers Central Government only.


Related information about Japan Government Debt: % of GDP

• In the latest reports, Japan National Government Debt reached 9,396.6 USD bn in Apr 2023.
• The country's Nominal GDP reached 1,080.1 USD bn in Mar 2023.

Japan recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 236.70 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Japan Government Debt to GDP - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

United States Gross Federal Debt: Held by the Public: Fed Reserve Sys: as % of GDP data was reported at 18.400 % in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 22.300 % for 2022. United States Gross Federal Debt: Held by the Public: Fed Reserve Sys: as % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 5.400 % from Sep 1940 (Median) to 2023, with 84 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 23.700 % in 2021 and a record low of 1.800 % in 1942. United States Gross Federal Debt: Held by the Public: Fed Reserve Sys: as % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of Management and Budget. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.F072: Federal Debt: Annual.

The U.S. debt held by the public amounted to 24.24 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023, which was about 97.3 percent of the U.S. GDP. The forecast predicts an increase in public debt up to 48.3 trillion U.S. dollars in 2034, which would be about 116 percent of the U.S. GDP. The actual total debt accrued by the U.S. annually can be accessed here.

The national debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio measures the proportion of gross federal debt to US GDP. Data is sourced from the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Canada PBO Forecast: Federal Debt: % of GDP data was reported at 39.200 % in 2030. This records a decrease from the previous number of 40.100 % for 2029. Canada PBO Forecast: Federal Debt: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 40.800 % from Mar 2016 (Median) to 2030, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 49.300 % in 2021 and a record low of 30.800 % in 2020. Canada PBO Forecast: Federal Debt: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Canada – Table CA.F011: Federal Government Debt: Forecast: Parliamentary Budget Officer.