Glossary · Economy
National debt
The national debt is the total a government owes: all its past budget deficits, minus surpluses, still to be repaid.
Also called: federal debt, US national debt, government debt, public debt
Total public debt outstanding, November 9, 2026.
Debt ÷ US population (2026).
Since November 7, 2025: about $6.69B a day.
In plain words
If you spend $1,100 a month but earn $1,000, you have to borrow the missing $100. Do that every month and the borrowing piles up. A government is no different: each year’s spending beyond its revenue is the budget deficit, and the pile of all past borrowing is the national debt.
The US Treasury borrows by selling bills, notes and bonds (Treasuries) to investors, banks, pension funds, foreign governments and the Federal Reserve. The total stood at $40.6T on November 9, 2026, about $118,527 for every person in the country.
Of that, $32.8T is held by the public. The other $7.8T is owed by the government to itself, mostly to trust funds such as Social Security’s.
Example
From deficits to debt
- A government starts with no debt. Year 1: it spends $110 billion and collects $100 billion. Deficit $10 billion; debt $10 billion.
- Year 2: a deficit of $15 billion. Debt $25 billion.
- Year 3: a surplus of $5 billion pays some back. Debt $20 billion.
- Interest: at 4% a year, $20 billion of debt costs $800 million a year, which adds to next year’s spending.
The debt shrinks in dollars only when the budget runs a surplus. The US last did that in 2001.
One level deeper
Debt held by the public is the part that matters most for markets: it is what the government must keep refinancing as its bonds mature, and what interest is paid on. Intragovernmental debt is money one part of the government owes another, so it nets out.
The US has had debt since its founding: $71.1M in 1790. It jumped in wars, then in recessions and crises. At the end of fiscal 2000 it was $5.67T; it is 7.08 times that now.
The dollar amount alone says little, because the economy and prices grow too. That is why economists compare debt with the size of the economy, the debt-to-GDP ratio, and watch the interest bill against tax revenue. Congress also sets a legal limit, the debt ceiling, which it has raised or suspended many times since it was created in 1917.
US federal debt since 1790
Total debt at the end of each fiscal year, in dollars of the day, on a log scale: each step up the axis is ten times more. The big jumps came with the Civil War, the two World Wars and the crises after 2008 and 2020.
The numbers behind the chart
| Date | Federal debt |
|---|---|
| 1790 | $71.1M |
| 1800 | $83M |
| 1810 | $53.2M |
| 1820 | $91M |
| 1830 | $48.6M |
| 1840 | $3.57M |
| 1850 | $63.5M |
| 1860 | $64.8M |
| 1870 | $2.48B |
| 1880 | $2.12B |
| 1890 | $1.55B |
| 1900 | $2.14B |
| 1910 | $2.65B |
| 1920 | $26B |
| 1930 | $16.2B |
| 1940 | $43B |
| 1950 | $257B |
| 1960 | $286B |
| 1970 | $371B |
| 1980 | $908B |
| 1990 | $3.23T |
| 2000 | $5.67T |
| 2010 | $13.6T |
| 2020 | $26.9T |
| 2022 | $30.9T |
| 2023 | $33.2T |
| 2024 | $35.5T |
| 2025 | $37.6T |
| 2026 | $40.2T |
Why it matters
Interest on the debt is one of the biggest items in the federal budget, and it grows when rates rise or the debt does.
Treasuries are the world’s main safe asset and the base for interest rates everywhere, so the size and cost of US debt matter far beyond the US.
Debt can be useful (wars, recessions, investment that pays off later), but if it grows faster than the economy for decades, future budgets have less room.
A common mistake
Myth: The US national debt is owed mostly to China.
In fact: Most of it is owed to Americans: US investors, banks, pension funds, the Federal Reserve and the government’s own trust funds. Foreign governments and investors own a minority, and China is only one of them.
Questions people ask
How much is the US national debt?
$40.6T on November 9, 2026, according to the Treasury’s Debt to the Penny. Our national debt page updates it every day.
What is the difference between the debt and the deficit?
The deficit is one year’s shortfall; the debt is the sum of all past shortfalls minus surpluses. In fiscal 2026 the deficit was $1.99T.
Who owns the US debt?
About 81% is held by the public: investors at home and abroad, banks, funds and the Federal Reserve. The rest is held by federal trust funds such as Social Security’s.
Read more on BigCapital
About the numbers
- The numbers on this page are recalculated from the data every night; the sources are listed at the end of the page.
- US federal debt at the end of each fiscal year: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Fiscal Data: Historical Debt Outstanding.
- US federal debt (Debt to the Penny): U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Fiscal Data: Debt to the Penny.
- Federal surplus or deficit (−), fiscal years: U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Historical Tables (Table 1.1), via FRED, series FYFSD; retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
- Gross domestic product (current dollars): U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Income and Product Accounts, Table 1.1.5, series GDP; retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
- US median and mean household income: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplements (CPS ASEC), Historical Income Tables: Households, Table H-5 (All Races).
- US population (Shiller): Robert J. Shiller, "US Home Prices 1890-Present" (shillerdata.com), Fig3-1.xls, sheet "Data", column "U.S. Population Millions".
- Per person: the total debt divided by the US population estimate for the year.
- This page explains a term. It is not investment advice.