At the end of 2024, depository institutions owned around 5.12 percent of the total U.S. debt. Depository institutions includes U.S. chartered depository institutions, foreign banking offices in the United States, banks in U.S. affiliated areas, credit unions, and bank holding companies. The total debt accrued by the U.S. annually can be accessed here.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Debt: Total Public Debt from Q1 1966 to Q2 2025 about public, debt, federal, government, and USA.

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.

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 Federal Debt Held by Foreign and International Investors as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (HBFIGDQ188S) from Q1 1970 to Q2 2025 about foreign, debt, federal, GDP, and USA.

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.

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.

By 2035, the gross federal debt of the United States is projected to be about 59.3 trillion U.S. dollars. This would be an increase of around 24 trillion U.S. dollars from 2024, when the federal debt was around 35 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.

A table that shows in detail by CUSIP, the interest rate, the STRIP CUSIP, maturity date, and amounts outstanding for securities held in unstripped form, stripped form and amount that have been reconstituted. STRIP stands for Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of Securities. This is a security that has been stripped down into separate securities representing the principal and each interest payment. Each payment has its own identification number and can be traded individually. These securities are also known as zero-coupon bonds.

In 2023, the gross federal debt in the United States amounted to around ****** U.S. dollars per capita. This is a moderate increase from the previous year, when the per capita national debt amounted to about ****** U.S. dollars. The total debt accrued by the U.S. annually can be accessed here. Federal debt of the United States The level of national debt held by the United States government has risen sharply in the years following the Great Recession. Federal debt is the amount of debt the federal government owes to creditors who hold assets in the form of debt securities. As with individuals and consumers, there is a common consensus among economists that holding debt is not necessarily problematic for government so long as the public debt is held at a sustainable level. Although there is no agreed upon ratio of debt to gross domestic product, the increasing debt held by the Federal Reserve has become a major part of the political discourse in the United States. Politics and the national debt In recent years, debate over the debt ceiling has been of concern to domestic politicians, the owners of federal debt, and global economy as a whole. The debt ceiling is a legislated maximum amount that national debt can reach intended to impose a degree of fiscal prudence on incumbent governments. However, as national debt has grown the debt ceiling has been reached, thus forcing legislative action by Congress. In both 2011 and 2013, new legislation was passed by Congress allowing the debt ceiling to be raised. The Budget Control Act of 2011 and the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 successively allowed the government to avoid defaulting on national debt and therefore avert a potential economic crisis.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Debt Held by Federal Reserve Banks (FDHBFRBN) from Q1 1970 to Q2 2025 about debt, federal, banks, depository institutions, 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.

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

Key information about United States Total Debt: % of GDP

• United States Total Debt accounted for 718.9 % of the country's GDP in 2025, compared with the ratio of 718.5 % in the previous quarter.
• US Total Debt: % of GDP data is updated quarterly, available from Dec 1951 to Jun 2025.
• The data reached an all-time high of 834.1 % 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.

View monthly updates and historical trends for US Public Debt Per Capita. from United States. Source: Department of the Treasury. Track economic data with…

In 2024, the national debt of India amounted to around 3.16 trillion U.S. dollars. Projections show an upward trend, with a significant increase each year. Honor thy national debtNational debt, also called government debt or public debt, is money owed by the federal government. It can be divided into internal debt, (which is owed to lenders in the country) and external debt (which is owed to foreign lenders). National debt is created and increased by using government bonds, for example, or by borrowing money from other nations due to financial struggles (well-known case in point: Greece). A quite complex issue, national debt is expected to be paid back in accordance with certain regulations overseen by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a financial organization owned by central banks. India’s debt is rising, but so is its economic growthIndia’s liabilities have increased significantly, and forecasts show no end in sight. While India is a fast-growing economy and considered one of the main emerging economies, the so-called BRIC countries, India has been investing and borrowing money from commercial banks as well as several non-banking finance companies, and its national debt today makes up almost 70 percent of its GDP. Luckily, even though the national debt is forecast to increase, this share of GDP is predicted to decrease, as is the trade deficit in the long run, despite a significant jump back into the red in 2017.

At the end of 2024, foreign investors owned around a third of the total Italian debt, while the central bank held around 22 percent. Private banks and financial intermediaries owned another 21 percent of the total national debt.

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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.

The statistic shows the 20 countries with the lowest national debt in 2024 in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP). The data refer to the debts of the entire state, including the central government, the provinces, municipalities, local authorities and social insurance. In 2024, Russia's estimated level of national debt reached about 20.3 percent of the GDP, ranking 16th of the countries with the lowest national debt. National debt and GDP The debt-to-GDP ratio is an indicator of a country’s ability to produce and sell goods in order to pay back any present debts, however these countries should not retain newer debts in the process. Many economists believe that if a country is able to produce more without impairing its own economical growth, it can be considered more stable, particularly for the future. However, the listed countries, with the exception of Russia and Saudi Arabia, are not necessarily economic first-world powers. Additionally, economically powerful countries such as the United States and France maintain one of the highest debt-to-GDP ratios, signifying that occurring debt does not necessarily damage the state of the economy and is sometimes necessary in order to help develop it. Saudi Arabia has maintained one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios due to its high export rates, which primarily consist of petroleum and petroleum goods. Given the significance of oil in today’s world, Saudi Arabia produces enough oil and earns enough revenue to maintain a high GDP and additionally refrain from incurring debt.

In 2023, China held **** percent of foreign held U.S. securities. Japan held a further **** percent of foreign held securities. The national debt of the United Stated can be found here.