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).

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 Federal Debt: Total Public Debt from Q1 1966 to Q1 2025 about public, debt, federal, government, and USA.

Summarizes the U.S. government's total outstanding debt at the end of each fiscal year from 1789 to the current year.

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

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.

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. Debt to the Penny is updated at 3:00 PM EST each business day with data from the previous business day.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Surplus or Deficit - from 1901 to 2024 about budget, federal, and USA.

Key information about United States National Government Debt

• United States National Government Debt reached 36,218.9 USD bn in Feb 2025, compared with 36,220.2 USD bn in the previous month.
• US National Government Debt data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1969 to Feb 2025.
• The data reached an all-time high of 36,220.2 USD bn in Jan 2025 and a record low of 353.7 USD bn in Jun 1969.

The Bureau of the Fiscal Service provides monthly Government Debt in USD. Government Debt covers Central Government only.


Related information about United States National Government Debt

• In the latest reports, US Consolidated Fiscal Balance recorded a deficit equal to 7.0 % of its Nominal GDP in Dec 2024.
• The country's Government debt accounted for 124.0 % of its Nominal GDP in Dec 2024.
• US Nominal GDP reached 6,632.4 USD bn in Mar 2023.

This dataset provides the monthly total of gift contributions received by the U.S. Treasury that were donated to reduce the public debt. These donations can include money, outstanding government obligations, and property that is sold for cash.

This summary table shows the on-budget and off-budget receipts and outlays, the on-budget and off-budget surplus/deficit, and the means of financing the budget surplus/deficit. The table also shows the budgeted amounts estimated in the President's Budget for the current fiscal year and next fiscal year for each item on the table. This table includes total and subtotal rows that should be excluded when aggregating data. Some rows represent elements of the dataset's hierarchy, but are not assigned values. The classification_id for each of these elements can be used as the parent_id for underlying data elements to calculate their implied values. Subtotal rows are available to access this same information.

Key information about US Consolidated Fiscal Balance: % of GDP

• United States Consolidated Fiscal Balance recorded a deficit equal to 7.0 % of its Nominal GDP in Dec 2024, compared with a deficit equal to 6.4 % in the previous quarter
• US Consolidated Fiscal Balance to GDP data is updated quarterly, available from Sep 1981 to Dec 2024, with an average ratio of -3.4 %
• The data reached an all-time high of 2.5 % in Dec 2000 and a record low of -19.0 % in Mar 2021

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


Further information about US Consolidated Fiscal Balance: % of GDP

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

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.

The United States recorded a Government Budget deficit equal to 6.30 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2023. This dataset provides - United States Government Budget - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

This summary table shows the total amount of receipts and outlays and the amount of the budget surplus/deficit by month for the current and prior fiscal years. This table includes total and subtotal rows that should be excluded when aggregating data. Some rows represent elements of the dataset's hierarchy, but are not assigned values. The classification_id for each of these elements can be used as the parent_id for underlying data elements to calculate their implied values. Subtotal rows are available to access this same information.

United States US: Central Government Debt: Total: % of GDP data was reported at 99.457 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 97.375 % for 2015. United States US: Central Government Debt: Total: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 54.468 % from Sep 1989 (Median) to 2016, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 99.457 % in 2016 and a record low of 15.109 % in 2001. United States US: Central Government Debt: Total: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Government Revenue, Expenditure and Finance. Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a flow, it is measured as of a given date, usually the last day of the fiscal year.; ; International Monetary Fund, Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, and World Bank and OECD GDP estimates.; Weighted average;

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.

The United States recorded a government budget surplus of 27000 USD Million in June of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Government Budget Value - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

United States CBO Projection: Federal Debt Held by Public: Average Interest Rate data was reported at 3.448 % in 2028. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.442 % for 2027. United States CBO Projection: Federal Debt Held by Public: Average Interest Rate data is updated yearly, averaging 3.289 % from Sep 2014 (Median) to 2028, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.531 % in 2023 and a record low of 1.654 % in 2015. United States CBO Projection: Federal Debt Held by Public: Average Interest Rate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Congressional Budget Office. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.F006: Federal Debt: Projection: Congressional Budget Office.

United States Federal Debt: Public Debt Securities: Interest Expenses data was reported at 31.648 USD bn in Oct 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 28.981 USD bn for Sep 2018. United States Federal Debt: Public Debt Securities: Interest Expenses data is updated monthly, averaging 22.310 USD bn from Oct 1997 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 253 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 110.973 USD bn in Jun 2008 and a record low of -52.817 USD bn in Jul 2012. United States Federal Debt: Public Debt Securities: Interest Expenses data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.F004: Federal Debt. A onetime adjustment of $75 USD BN decreased the interest expense on public debt data for the month of July 2012 causing the value to be negative. Adjustment was made due to the change in the accounting method for the Department of Defense (DOD) market based securities.