In 2023, the U.S. government spent a total of 875 billion U.S. dollars on interest of public debt. 497 billion U.S. dollars was on interest for debt held by the public.

The national debt of the United Stated can be found here.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Debt: Total Public Debt (GFDEBTN) from Q1 1966 to Q1 2025 about public, debt, federal, government, and USA.

In September 2024, the national debt of the United States had risen up to 35.46 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.

Graph and download economic data for Equity Market Volatility Tracker: Government Spending Deficits And Debt (EMVGOVTSPEND) from Jan 1985 to Jul 2025 about budget, volatility, uncertainty, equity, debt, expenditures, government, 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.

Public sector debt interest spending in the United Kingdom reached 124.7 billion British pounds in 2024/25, compared with just under 126.6 billion pounds in the previous year.

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.

Government Debt in the United States increased to 36916987 USD Million in July from 36211469 USD Million in June of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Government Debt- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

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;

Public sector net debt amounted to 95.8 percent of gross domestic product in the United Kingdom during the 2024/25 financial year, or 90 percent when the Bank of England is excluded. UK government debt is at its highest levels since the early 1960s, due to a significant increase in borrowing during the COVID-19 pandemic. After peaking at 251.7 percent shortly after the end of the Second World War, government debt in the UK gradually fell, before a sharp increase in the late 2000s at the time of the global financial crisis. Debt not expected to start falling until 2029/30 In 2024/25, the UK's government expenditure was approximately 1.28 trillion pounds, around 44.7 percent of GDP. This spending was financed by 1.13 trillion pounds of revenue raised, and 151 billion pounds of borrowing. Although the UK government can still borrow money in the future to finance its spending, the amount spent on debt interest has increased significantly recently. Recent forecasts suggest that while the debt is eventually expected to start declining, this is based on falling government deficits in the next five years. Government facing hard choices Hitting fiscal targets, such as reducing the national debt, will require a careful balancing of the books from the current government, and the possibility for either spending cuts or tax rises. Although Labour ruled out raising the main government tax sources, Income Tax, National Insurance, and VAT, at the 2024 election, they did raise National Insurance for employers (rather than employees) and also cut Winter Fuel allowances for large numbers of pensioners. Less than a year after implementing cuts to Winter Fuel, the government performed a U-Turn on the issue, and will make it widely available by the winter of 2025.

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).

Graph and download economic data for Federal government current expenditures: Interest payments (A091RC1Q027SBEA) from Q1 1947 to Q2 2025 about payments, expenditures, federal, government, interest, GDP, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Household Debt Service Payments as a Percent of Disposable Personal Income (TDSP) from Q1 1980 to Q1 2025 about disposable, payments, personal income, debt, percent, households, personal, income, services, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Outlays: Interest as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYOIGDA188S) from 1940 to 2024 about outlays, percent, federal, interest, GDP, and USA.

This statistic shows the government debt interest expenditure in France from 2010 to 2023, in billion euros. The debt interest expenditure peaked in 2022, at **** billion euros, the highest since 2011.

This graph shows public expenditure on debt interest payments in China from 2016 to 2024. In 2024, total public expenditure on debt interest payments in China amounted to around **** trillion yuan.

Russia Federal Government Expenditure: Debt Service data was reported at 102.011 RUB bn in Dec 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 85.715 RUB bn for Nov 2022. Russia Federal Government Expenditure: Debt Service data is updated monthly, averaging 26.300 RUB bn from Oct 1999 (Median) to Dec 2022, with 279 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 165.814 RUB bn in Mar 2022 and a record low of 2.200 RUB bn in Oct 2005. Russia Federal Government Expenditure: Debt Service data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Russian Federation – Table RU.FB006: Federal Government Revenue and Expenditure: General.

The short survey on current issues relating to government spending and public debt was conducted by the opinion research institute forsa on behalf of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government. In the survey period from 18.03.2024 to 20.03.2024, the German-speaking population aged 14 and over was asked in telephone interviews (CATI) about their attitudes to government spending and government debt. In particular, the focus is on the assessment of the debt brake and various options for reforming it. Respondents were selected using a multi-stage random sample as part of a multi-topic survey (policy BUS) including landline and mobile phone numbers (dual-frame sample). Assessment of Germany´s overall financial situation in terms of income and expenditure; assessment of Germany´s debt burden compared to most other industrialized countries; opinion on government debt (government debt should generally be avoided, is generally not a problem, only makes sense if it is used for investments for the future); government spends too much vs. too little money on various political and social tasks (health and care, defense, social affairs, climate protection, housing, integration of immigrants, pensions); opinion on the state only taking out new larger loans in exceptional emergency situations such as natural disasters (debt brake should remain as it is, it should be reformed or it should be abolished completely); evaluation of various proposals for reforming the debt regulation (change the debt limit so that the state can generally take on more debt than before, create a transitional rule so that even in the year following an emergency situation it is still possible to take on slightly more debt than usual, allow higher debt to be taken on if the economic situation is worse than expected, allow higher debt to be taken on for defense spending, allow higher debt to be taken on for investments in climate protection, allow higher debt to be taken on for investments in infrastructure such as roads and railways). Demography: sex; age; education; income level low, medium, high (net equivalent income); city size; party preference in the next federal election; voting behavior in the last federal election. Additionally coded were: Respondent ID; region west/east; weighting factor. Die Kurzumfrage über aktuelle Fragen zu Staatsausgaben und Staatsschulden wurde vom Meinungsforschungsinstitut forsa im Auftrag des Presse- und Informationsamtes der Bundesregierung durchgeführt. Im Erhebungszeitraum 18.03.2024 bis 20.03.2024 wurde die deutschsprachige Bevölkerung ab 14 Jahren in telefonischen Interviews (CATI) zu ihren Einstellungen zu Staatsausgaben und Staatsschulden befragt. Insbesondere geht es um die Bewertung der Schuldenbremse bzw. um verschiedene Möglichkeiten, sie zu reformieren. Die Auswahl der Befragten erfolgte durch eine mehrstufige Zufallsstichprobe im Rahmen einer Mehrthemenbefragung (Politik-BUS) unter Einschluss von Festnetz- und Mobilfunknummern (Dual-Frame Stichprobe). Bewertung der finanziellen Lage Deutschlands insgesamt bezogen auf Einnahmen und Ausgaben; Einschätzung der Schuldenlast Deutschlands im Vergleich zu den meisten anderen Industriestaaten; Meinung zu Staatsschulden (Schulden des Staates sollten grundsätzlich vermieden werden, sind grundsätzlich kein Problem, sind nur dann sinnvoll, wenn sie für Investitionen für die Zukunft eingesetzt werden); Staat gibt zu viel vs. zu wenig Geld aus für verschiedene politische und gesellschaftliche Aufgaben (Gesundheit und Pflege, Verteidigung, Soziales, Klimaschutz, Wohnungsbau, Integration von Zugewanderten, Renten); Meinung zur Neuaufnahme größerer Kredite durch den Staat nur in außergewöhnlichen Notsituationen wie z.B. Naturkatastrophen (Schuldenbremse sollte so bestehen bleiben wie sie ist, sie sollte reformiert werden oder sie sollte vollständig abgeschafft werden); Bewertung verschiedener Vorschläge zur Reform der Schuldenregelung (die Schuldengrenze verändern, damit der Staat generell mehr Schulden aufnehmen kann als bisher, eine Übergangsregel schaffen, sodass man auch im Jahr nach einer Notsituation noch etwas mehr Kredite aufnehmen kann als gewöhnlich, die Aufnahme höherer Schulden erlauben, wenn die Wirtschaftslage schlechter ist als erwartet, die Aufnahme höherer Schulden erlauben für Verteidigungsausgaben, die Aufnahme höherer Schulden erlauben für Investitionen in den Klimaschutz, die Aufnahme höherer Schulden erlauben für Investitionen in die Infrastruktur wie Straßen und Schienen). Demographie: Geschlecht; Alter; Bildung; Einkommenslage niedrig, mittel, hoch (Nettoäquivalenzeinkommen); Ortsgröße; Parteipräferenz bei der nächsten Bundestagswahl; Wahlverhalten bei der letzten Bundestagswahl. Zusätzlich verkodet wurde: Befragten ID; Region West/Ost; Gewichtungsfaktor.

Households Debt in the United States decreased to 69.20 percent of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 70.50 percent of GDP in the third quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - United States Households Debt To Gdp- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

This table represents the breakdown of total public debt outstanding as it relates to the statutory debt limit. All figures are rounded to the nearest million.