How Much Is the National Debt? What are the Different Measures Used? (2024)

FAQs

How Much Is the National Debt? What are the Different Measures Used? ›

In dollar terms, debt held by the public at the end of 2023 was $26.3 trillion. Such debt is issued in a range of maturities, from 1-month bills to 30-year bonds. It also includes securities not traded in secondary markets, such as savings bonds and state and local government securities.

Debt held by the public is often expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the capacity of the economy to support such borrowing. This is particularly useful in comparing debt levels over time and among countries of different sizes.

A debt ratio measures the amount of leverage used by a company in terms of total debt to total assets. This ratio varies widely across industries, such that capital-intensive businesses tend to have much higher debt ratios than others. A company's debt ratio can be calculated by dividing total debt by total assets.

There are two components of gross national debt: "Debt held by the public" – such as Treasury securities held by investors outside the federal government, including those held by individuals, corporations, the Federal Reserve, and foreign, state and local governments.

The $34 trillion gross federal debt includes debt held by the public as well as debt held by federal trust funds and other government accounts. In very basic terms, this can be thought of as debt that the government owes to others plus debt that it owes to itself.

The national debt can be broken down by whether it is non-marketable or marketable and whether it is debt held by the public or debt held by the government itself (known as intragovernmental ).

It's calculated by adding together your current and long-term liabilities. Knowing your total debt can help you calculate other important metrics like net debt and debt-to-EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) ratio, which indicates a company's ability to pay off its debt.

Different types of debt include secured and unsecured, or revolving and installment. Debt categories can also include mortgages, credit card lines of credit, student loans, auto loans, and personal loans.

Answer and Explanation: There are different ways of measuring the national debt such as the absolute dollar size and the use of the debt to GDP ratio method. For example, the debt to GDP ratio mechanism weighs the debt as a percentage of gross domestic product.

Debt measurement refers to the process of quantifying and evaluating the amount of debt or financial obligations that an entity has incurred. It involves assessing the level of debt and its impact on the entity's financial health and risk profile.

Who owns U.S. debt by country? ›

Nearly half of all US foreign-owned debt comes from five countries. All values are adjusted to 2023 dollars. As of January 2023, the five countries owning the most US debt are Japan ($1.1 trillion), China ($859 billion), the United Kingdom ($668 billion), Belgium ($331 billion), and Luxembourg ($318 billion).

The largest holder of U.S. debt is the U.S government. Which agencies own the most Treasury notes, bills, and bonds? Social Security, by a long shot. The U.S. Treasury publishes this information in its monthly Treasury statement.

It began rising at a fast rate in the 1980's and was accelerated through events like the Iraq Wars and the 2008 Great Recession. Most recently, the debt made another big jump thanks to the pandemic with the federal government spending significantly more than it took in to keep the country running.

At the top is Japan, whose national debt has remained above 100% of its GDP for two decades, reaching 255% in 2023.

The national debt is the sum of a nation's annual budget deficits, offset by any surpluses. A deficit occurs when the government spends more than it raises in revenue.

The national debt is the total amount of money that a country owes creditors. It represents the sum of past deficits. Economists focus on the ratio of debt to a nation's gross domestic product as an indicator of its sustainability.

The national debt is measured by adding together the amount of money the government borrowed in all years up to that time, minus what has been repaid. It is the total of all budget deficits and budget surpluses.

There are two kinds of national debt: intragovernmental and public. Intragovernmental is debt held by the Federal Reserve and Social Security and other government agencies. Public debt is held by the public: individual investors, institutions, foreign governments.

One of the main culprits is consistently overspending. When the federal government spends more than its budget, it creates a deficit. In the fiscal year of 2023, it spent about $381 billion more than it collected in revenues. To pay that deficit, the government borrows money.