The U.S. national debt is rising by $1 trillion about every 100 days (2024)

FAQs

Is the US national debt rising by $1 trillion about every 100 days? ›

Interest payments represent seasonally adjusted annual rate at the end of Q4. At current rates, the U.S. national debt is growing by a remarkable $1 trillion about every 100 days, equal to roughly $3.6 trillion per year.

Over the past year, the debt has increased by nearly $8.5 billion per day, a pace that poses significant risks to the nation's economic stability. As of March 18, 2024, the total national debt stands at $34,551,363,248,839.89. This translates to a debt of $219,381.755 per taxpayer and $102,774.27 per U.S. citizen.

U.S. publicly held debt 2013-2024

In April 2024, the public debt of the United States was around 34.62 trillion U.S. dollars, more than two trillion more than in July when it was around 32.6 trillion U.S. dollars.

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

Rising debt means fewer economic opportunities for Americans. Rising debt reduces business investment and slows economic growth. It also increases expectations of higher rates of inflation and erosion of confidence in the U.S. dollar.

The US Department of Treasury building seen in March 2023. US government debt is nearing $35 trillion. The high and rising level of US government debt risks driving up borrowing costs around the world and undermining global financial stability, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

The list of 31 billionaires worth more than Uncle Sam's cash total includes household names like Michael Dell, legendary investor Warren Buffett and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, as well as billionaires with lower profiles such as French billionaire Francois Pinault and Chanel chairman Alain Wertheimer.

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).

When was the last time the USA was out of debt? ›

By January of 1835, for the first and only time, all of the government's interest-bearing debt was paid off. Congress distributed the surplus to the states (many of which were heavily in debt). The Jackson administration ended with the country almost completely out of debt!

Former financial arbitrage trader Jerome Kerviel is the most indebted man on the planet, owing his former employer $6.3 billion. The amount Kerviel owes to French bank Societe Generale for fraudulent trades made in 2007 and 2008 would make Kerviel one of the 50 richest people in America if those debts were assets.

Between 1980 and 1990, the debt more than tripled. The debt shrank briefly after the end of the Cold War, but by the end of FY 2008, the gross national debt had reached $10.3 trillion, about 10 times its 1980 level.

Total US federal government debt breached $30 trillion mark for the first time in history in February 2022.

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.

In total, other territories hold about $7.4 trillion in U.S. debt. Japan owns the most at $1.1 trillion, followed by China, with $859 billion, and the United Kingdom at $668 billion.