Government Debt in the United States increased to 38040094 USD Million in October from 37637553 USD Million in September of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Government Debt- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

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).

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: Total Public Debt (GFDEBTN) from Q1 1966 to Q2 2025 about public, debt, federal, government, and USA.

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.

A table that summarizes the amounts outstanding for the securities issued by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service adjusted for Unamortized Discount on Treasury Bills and Zero Coupon Treasury Bonds, Other Debt (old debt issued before 1917 and old currency called United States Notes), Debt held by the Federal Financing Bank and Guaranteed Debt of Government Agencies that makes up the Total Public Debt Subject to Limit amount.

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DAY ~11,000 (April 1st, 1993 to Present-Day)

This is a dataset that tracks several figures regarding US debt (to the penny) since 1993.

All data are official figures from the U.S. Treasury that have been compiled and structured by myself. Dates on the weekend (Saturday and Sunday), as well as federal holidays, are excluded from the debt tracker because the Treasury's fiscal data do not account for those days. Recent political debates in the US over the potential raising of the debt ceiling has inspired me to create this dataset. Personally, I believe that the issue will continue to dominate political discourse due to the increasing polarization between Democrats and Republicans.

Data Sources

The primary data source used was the U.S. Treasury's official website, which publishes fiscal data pertaining to the American government. Considering the meticulous documentation of federal spending by the Treasury, no other authority is more equipped to provide insight on US debt.

1. U.S. Treasury's FiscalData Website - The United States Department of the Treasury published daily updates on the national debt since April 1st, 1993. However, intragovernmental holdings and total public debt outstanding have only been accounted for at the end of each fiscal year since 1997. Daily updates for those two statistics officially began since March 31st, 2005.
2. U.S. Treasury's Finance Guide to the National Debt - The United States Department of the Treasury released a detailed overview of the national debt and how it operates in conjunction with American society. The guide mainly provided essential contextual knowledge needed to create a meaningful dataset.

Statistics Being Tracked

• Debt Held by the Public
• Intragovernmental Holdings
• Total Public Debt Outstanding

Dataset History

2023-02-17 - Dataset is created (10,914 days after temporal coverage start date).

GitHub Repository - The same data but on GitHub.

Code Starter

Link to Notebook Important: Each new record is accumulated data from previous days.

Households Debt in the United States decreased to 68.30 percent of GDP in the first quarter of 2025 from 69.40 percent of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - United States Households Debt To Gdp- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

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.

A table that summarizes the amounts outstanding for all the securities issued by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service that makes up the Total Public Debt Outstanding amount.

Key information about United States Government Debt: % of GDP

• United States Government debt accounted for 120.9 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Jun 2025, compared with the ratio of 122.3 % in the previous quarter.
• US government debt to GDP ratio data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1969 to Jun 2025.
• The data reached an all-time high of 130.3 % 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 38,040.1 USD bn in Oct 2025.
• The country's Nominal GDP reached 7,621.4 USD bn in Jun 2025.

High-level information on the federal government's outstanding debts, holdings, and the statutory debt limit. Data is reported monthly.

Private Debt to GDP in the United States decreased to 142 percent in 2024 from 147.50 percent in 2023. United States Private Debt to GDP - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on December of 2025.

U.S. Public Debt vs. GDP

Trends and Comparisons

By Charlie Hutcheson [source]

About this dataset

This dataset contains quarterly data on the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Total Public Debt from 1947 through 2020. It provides a comprehensive view into the development of debt versus GDP over the years, offering insights into how our economy has grown and changed since The Great Depression. Explore this valuable information to answer questions such as: How do debt and GDP relate to one another? Has US government spending been outpacing wealth throughout history? From what sources does our national debt originate? This dataset can be utilized by economists, governments, researchers, investors, financial institutions, journalists — anyone looking to gain a better understanding of where our economy stands today compared to past decades

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How to use the dataset

This dataset, U.S. GDP vs Debt Over Time, contains quarterly data on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Total Public Debt of the United States between 1947 to 2020. This can be useful for conducting research into how the total public debt relates to economic growth in the US.

The dataset includes 4 columns: Quarter , Gross Domestic Product ($mil), Total Public Debt ($mil). The Quarter column consists of strings that represent each quarter from 1947-2020 with a corresponding number (e.g., “Q1-1947”). The Gross Domestic Product ($mil) and Total Public Debt ($mil) columns consist of numbers that indicate the respective amounts in millions for each quarter during this same time period.

By analyzing this dataset you can explore various trends over different periods as it relates to public debt versus economic growth in America and make informed decisions about how certain policies may affect future outcomes. Additionally, you could also compare these two values with other variables such as unemployment rate or inflation rate to gain deeper insights into America’s economy over time

Research Ideas

• Comparing the quarterly growth in GDP with public debt to show the correlation between economic growth and government spending.
• Creating a bar or line visualization that compares the US’s total public debt to comparable economic powers like China, Japan, and Europe over time.
• Examining how changes in government deficit have contributed towards an increase in public debt by analyzing which quarters saw significant leaps of growth from one year to the next

Acknowledgements

If you use this dataset in your research, please credit the original authors. Data Source

License

License: Dataset copyright by authors - You are free to: - Share - copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially. - Adapt - remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. - You must: - Give appropriate credit - Provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. - ShareAlike - You must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. - Keep intact - all notices that refer to this license, including copyright notices.

Columns

File: US GDP vs Debt.csv | Column name | Description | |:----------------------------------|:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Quarter | The quarter of the year in which the data was collected. (String) | | Gross Domestic Product ($mil) | The total value of all goods and services produced by the US in a given quarter. (Integer) | | Total Public Debt ($mil) | The total amount owed by the federal government. (Integer) |

Acknowledgements

If you use this dataset in your research, please credit the original authors. If you use this dataset in your research, please credit Charlie Hutcheson.

This dataset contains quarterly data on the public debt in the United States, starting from 1996 and running up to 2023. Public debt, also known as government debt, represents the total outstanding debt (bonds and other securities) of a country’s central government. Public debt as a percentage of GDP is often used by investors to measure a country's ability to make future payments on its debt, thus affecting the country's borrowing costs and government bond yields.

Content: The dataset comprises two columns:

Date: The end date of the respective quarter (MM/DD/YYYY format). Value: The total US public debt at the end of the respective quarter (in billions of USD). Acknowledgements: Data for this set is sourced from the US Department of the Treasury.

Inspiration: The US Public Debt is a critical economic indicator. Analysis of this data can offer insights into the fiscal health of the US government, its fiscal policy, and its ability to meet future obligations.

This dataset could be of interest to economists, financial analysts, data scientists, students, and anyone interested in the US economy or government finance.

Usability: The Public Debt data can be used for a variety of purposes:

Economic Analysis: It can be used for macroeconomic analysis and forecasting.

Government Finance Analysis: It can serve as a key indicator of the fiscal health of the US government.

Investment Analysis: Public debt levels can impact interest rates, inflation, and financial markets. Analysts can use this data to better understand these dynamics.

Policy Understanding: It can help understand the fiscal policy of the US government.

Education: It can be used in classrooms for teaching economics, finance, and related disciplines.

External Debt in the United States increased to 28604291 USD Million in the second quarter of 2025 from 28097015 USD Million in the first quarter of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Net International Investment Position - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

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.

Key information about United States Household Debt

• United States Household Debt reached 18,585.0 USD bn in Sep 2025, compared with the reported number of 18,388.0 USD bn in the previous quarter
• US Household Debt: USD mn data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1999 to Sep 2025
• The data reached an all-time high of 18,585.0 USD bn in Sep 2025 and a record low of 4,540.0 USD bn in Mar 1999

Federal Reserve Board of New York provides quarterly Household Debt in USD. Household Debt includes Mortgages, Home Equity Revolving, Auto Loans, Bankcards, Student Loans and Others.


Further information about United States Household Debt

• In the latest reports, United States Household Debt accounted for 61.4 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Jun 2025
• Money Supply M2 in United States increased 22,298.1 USD bn YoY in Oct 2025
• United States Foreign Exchange Reserves was measured at 38.3 USD bn in Oct 2025
• The Foreign Exchange Reserves equaled 0.1 Months of Import in Aug 2025
• United States Domestic Credit reached 31,813.3 USD bn in Mar 2025, representing an increased of 4.0 % YoY

Debt Balance Credit Cards in the United States increased to 1.23 Trillion USD in the third quarter of 2025 from 1.21 Trillion USD in the second quarter of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Debt Balance Credit Cards.

A table that shows the historical breakdown of the Debt Held by the Public, Intragovernmental Holdings and the Total Public Debt Outstanding.