Government debt in the United Kingdom reached over 2.8 trillion British pounds in 2024/25, compared with 2.69 trillion pounds in the previous financial year. Although debt has been increasing throughout this period, there is a noticeable jump between 2019/20, and 2020/21, when debt increased from 1.82 trillion pounds, to 2.15 trillion. The UK's government debt was the equivalent of 95.8 percent of GDP in 2024/25, and is expected to increase slightly in coming years, and not start falling until the end of this decade. Public finances in a tight spot With government debt approaching 100 percent of GDP, the UK finds itself in a tricky fiscal situation. If the UK can't reduce it's spending, or increase its revenue, the government will have to continue borrowing large amounts, increasing the debt further. Adding to the problem, is the fact that financing this debt has got steadily more expensive recently, with the government currently spending more on debt interest than it does on defence, transport, and public order and safety. Can the UK grow out its debt? After the Second World War, when the national debt reached over 250 percent of GDP, the UK managed to reduce its debt-to-GDP ratio, due to the economy growing faster than its debt over a long period of time. This is certainly the hope of the current Labour government, who are seeking to avoid significant tax and spending adjustments by strengthening the economy. Overdue investments in infrastructure and increased capital spending may eventually achieve this goal, but the government's declining popularity suggests they may not be in power by the time these policies might eventually bear fruit.

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.

The United Kingdom recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 95.90 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024. This dataset provides - United Kingdom Government Debt To GDP - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

This statistic shows the national debt of the United Kingdom from 2020 to 2024, with projections up until 2030. In 2024, the national debt in the United Kingdom was about 3.91 trillion U.S. dollars. Reduction of the national debt and recovery of the economy in the UK The debt of the United Kingdom, which amounted to around 1,600 billion pounds in 2014 - more than it has ever been - is projected to keep rising. Since the economic recession of 2007-08, economic growth in the United Kingdom has been slow, but it has been able to recover. In 2014, the United Kingdom recorded a 2.8 percent growth rate. Many believe that if the economy is stable, the government will reduce spending and not accrue any more debt, and it can indeed be seen that while government spending continues to increase, the gap between spending and revenue is projected to get smaller. If the government were to earn more than it spends, it could use the money left over to pay the national debt and start to reduce it. However, what is even more important is the size of the debt in relation to the size of the country's economy; if the debt grows slower than the economy, the debt to GDP ratio can still fall, despite a budget deficit. The ratio of government expenditure to GDP indicates that the economy is recovering at a faster rate than government expenditure, with the ratio decreasing significantly over the last decade and the national debt in relation to GDP being expected to decrease further as well - albeit slowly. This should help relieve concerns over the United Kingdom’s mounting debt, but for some debt reduction is just not fast enough.

Interest Payments on Government Debt in the United Kingdom decreased to 7093 GBP Million in July from 17200 GBP Million in June of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United Kingdom Interest Payments On Government Debt.

As of December 2024, UK government debt was more likely to be either short or long-term conventional gilts. Respectively, these types of bonds accounted for ** and **** percent of the total outstanding debt, while medium-term conventional gilts accounted for ** percent of the overall debt. Short-term gilts are government bonds with a maturity of seven years or less, medium a maturity of seven to 15 years, and long have a maturity of 15 to 50 years.

United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: General Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year data was reported at 71,194.000 GBP mn in Jun 2018. This stayed constant from the previous number of 71,194.000 GBP mn for Mar 2018. United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: General Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year data is updated quarterly, averaging 25,469.000 GBP mn from Mar 1995 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 94 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 90,258.000 GBP mn in Jun 2017 and a record low of 4,324.000 GBP mn in Mar 1995. United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: General Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.QPSD: Gross Public Debt: General Government.

United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: Central Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year: Insurance, Pensions and Standardized Guarantee Schemes data was reported at 0.000 GBP mn in Mar 2018. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 GBP mn for Dec 2017. United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: Central Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year: Insurance, Pensions and Standardized Guarantee Schemes data is updated quarterly, averaging 0.000 GBP mn from Mar 1995 (Median) to Mar 2018, with 93 observations. United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: Central Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year: Insurance, Pensions and Standardized Guarantee Schemes data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.World Bank: QPSD: Gross Public Debt: Central Government.

In 2025/26, the UK's government debt is expected to reach 2.9 trillion pounds, up from 2.8 trillion in 2024/25.

United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: General Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year data was reported at 3.465 % in Mar 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.434 % for Dec 2017. United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: General Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year data is updated quarterly, averaging 1.952 % from Mar 1995 (Median) to Mar 2018, with 93 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.566 % in Sep 2015 and a record low of 0.530 % in Mar 1995. United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: General Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.World Bank: QPSD: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: General Government.

United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: USD: Central Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year: Debt Securities data was reported at 100.109 USD bn in Mar 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 94.689 USD bn for Dec 2017. United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: USD: Central Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year: Debt Securities data is updated quarterly, averaging 39.875 USD bn from Mar 1995 (Median) to Mar 2018, with 93 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 130.676 USD bn in Sep 2015 and a record low of 6.975 USD bn in Mar 1995. United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: USD: Central Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year: Debt Securities data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.World Bank: QPSD: Gross Public Debt: Central Government.

United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: Central Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year data was reported at 3.430 % in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.457 % for Mar 2018. United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: Central Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year data is updated quarterly, averaging 1.987 % from Mar 1995 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 94 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.566 % in Sep 2015 and a record low of 0.530 % in Mar 1995. United Kingdom UK: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: Central Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.QPSD: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: Central Government.

In the 4th quarter of 2024, the debt of households in the United Kingdom amounted to ***** percent of their income. This indicator shows the average level of indebtedness of the general population and their ability to repay their debts. The total value of household debt (total liabilities and loans to households) has increased annually since 2000. Debt to income ratio increased during the pandemic As we have seen here, households have been decreasing their indebtedness levels in the past years. However, the volume of new consumer lending actually soared between 2022 and 2024. Meanwhile, the growth rate of mortgages in the UK has remained lower these past years, but it has also shown an increase on amount of lending.

Indebtedness in Europe The household debt of many countries in Europe as a share of their disposable income in 2024 was over 100 percent. That was mostly the case for Northern and Western European countries, such as Norway, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Germany and Austria were some of the largest exceptions, as they were among the few countries in that part of Europe with households' debt representing less than ** percent of their income.

As of December 2024, Japan held United States treasury securities totaling about 1.06 trillion U.S. dollars. Foreign holders of United States treasury debt According to the Federal Reserve and U.S. Department of the Treasury, foreign countries held a total of 8.5 trillion U.S. dollars in U.S. treasury securities as of December 2024. Of the total held by foreign countries, Japan and Mainland China held the greatest portions, with China holding 759 billion U.S. dollars in U.S. securities. The U.S. public debt In 2023, the United States had a total public national debt of 33.2 trillion U.S. dollars, an amount that has been rising steadily, particularly since 2008. In 2023, the total interest expense on debt held by the public of the United States reached 678 billion U.S. dollars, while 197 billion U.S. dollars in interest expense were intra governmental debt holdings. Total outlays of the U.S. government were 6.1 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. By 2029, spending is projected to reach 8.3 trillion U.S. dollars.

The yield on United Kingdom 10Y Bond Yield eased to 4.61% on September 11, 2025, marking a 0.02 percentage point decrease from the previous session. Over the past month, the yield has fallen by 0.02 points, though it remains 0.83 points higher than a year ago, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. UK 10 Year Gilt Bond Yield - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on September of 2025.

UK: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: General Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year: Debt Securities data was reported at 3.430 % in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.457 % for Mar 2018. UK: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: General Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year: Debt Securities data is updated quarterly, averaging 1.987 % from Mar 1995 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 94 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.566 % in Sep 2015 and a record low of 0.530 % in Mar 1995. UK: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: General Government: Long Term: Up to 1 Year: Debt Securities data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.QPSD: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: General Government.

In March 2025, the fiscal headroom forecast in the United Kingdom was 9.9 billion British pounds, the same amount predicted in October 2024. Fiscal headroom is the amount of money the UK government can use to increase spending or cut taxes while still adhering to fiscal rules regarding national debt falling in the future.