The United States has the largest
external debt in the world. The total amount of U.S. Treasury securities held by foreign entities in December 2021 was $7.7 trillion, up from $7.1 trillion in December 2020. Total
US federal government debt breached the
$30 trillion mark for the first time in history in
February 2022. As of
December 2023, total federal debt was
$33.1 trillion; $26.5 trillion held by the public and $12.1 trillion in intragovernmental debt. The annualized cost of servicing this debt was $726 billion in July 2023, which accounted for 14% of the total federal spending. Additionally, in recent decades, aging
demographics and rising
healthcare costs have led to concern about the long-term sustainability of the federal government's
fiscal policies.
In
February 2024, the total federal government debt grew to
$34.4 trillion after having grown by approximately $1 trillion in both of two separate 100-day periods since the previous June. As of
March 6, 2025, the federal government debt is
$36.56 trillion.