A 2023 survey found that 55 percent of Republicans do not think that Congress should raise the debt ceiling after the U.S. treasury reached its spending limits in January 2023. The U.S. debt ceiling does not authorize new spending commitments, it simply allows the government to finance existing legal obligations that it has made in the past. If a government does not raise the debt ceiling, the U.S. treasury will default on its debt, and could trigger an economic recession.

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.

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.

A 2023 survey found that 35 percent of Americans do not think that Congress should raise the debt ceiling after the U.S. treasury reached its spending limits in January 2023. The U.S. debt ceiling does not authorize new spending commitments, it simply allows the government to finance existing legal obligations that it has made in the past. If a government does not raise the debt ceiling, the U.S. treasury will default on its debt, and could trigger an economic recession.

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.

Of the 27 trillion U.S. dollars of marketable U.S. treasury securities that were outstanding as of May 2024, just below half were for treasury notes. Treasury notes have maturities of two, three, five, seven or 10 years, and have a coupon payment every six months. This contrasts to treasury bills, with maturity of one year or less, and treasury bonds, which have a maturity of 30 years.

Government Debt in the United States increased to 36215818 USD Million in May from 36213557 USD Million in April of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Government Debt- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The Debt Position and Activity Report shows the current and historical debt position of the U.S. Department of the Treasury in relation to debt held by the public, intragovernmental holdings, and statutory debt limit. Issue and redemption activity are also provided in this report.

The Monthly Statement of the Public Debt (MSPD) details the Treasury's outstanding debts and the statutory debt limit. Debt is categorized by whether it is marketable or non-marketable and whether it is debt held by the public or debt held by government agencies. All amounts are reported in millions of U.S. dollars. Data is published on the fourth business day of each month, detailing the debt as of the end of the previous month.