How much of GDP is public debt in USA?
By far, the largest component of US public debt is debt held by the public, investors outside the federal government, including that held by individuals, corporations, the Fed, and foreign, state and local governments. Current total public debt is bit over 100% GDP.
United States Government Debt: % of GDP
United States Government debt accounted for 124.3 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Dec 2023, compared with the ratio of 122.9 % in the previous quarter. US government debt to GDP ratio data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1969 to Dec 2023.
But the combination of higher interest rates and the swell of debt for pandemic relief spending has pushed that much higher. Debt service amounted to 2.4% of the economy last year, CBO said, and is poised to rise to 3.1% this year and 3.9% in 2034.
For example, the Penn-Wharton Budget Model noted in a report from October that "the U.S. debt held by the public cannot exceed about 200 percent of GDP of GDP even under today's generally favorable market conditions."
Debt-to-GDP measures the financial leverage of an economy. One of the Euro convergence criteria was that government debt-to-GDP should be below 60%.
Public debt, sometimes also referred to as government debt, represents the total outstanding debt (bonds and other securities) of a country's government. It is often expressed as a ratio of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Country/territory | US foreign-owned debt (January 2023) |
---|---|
Japan | $1,104,400,000,000 |
China | $859,400,000,000 |
United Kingdom | $668,300,000,000 |
Belgium | $331,100,000,000 |
- Japan. Japan has the highest percentage of national debt in the world at 259.43% of its annual GDP. ...
- United States. ...
- China. ...
- Russia.
The least indebted state is Oklahoma, according to the report, followed by Iowa and a tie for third with New Hampshire and Nebraska. The fifth best state in the category is Ohio. The next five best states, from best to worst, are Wyoming, Indiana, and Wisconsin, with Vermont and South Dakota tied in their ranking.
The $34 trillion gross federal debt equals debt held by the public plus 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. Learn more about different ways to measure our national debt.
What is Russia's debt to GDP ratio?
Public debt in Russia was 18.9% of GDP in 2022. For more public debt information, visit our dedicated page.
For now, PWBM's approach found that US debt must not surpass 200% of GDP if the worst is to be avoided. Right now, it's at about 98%. But a more plausible red line is closer to 175%, and even that assumes the government will implement fiscal policy corrections, authors Jagadeesh Gokhale and Kent Smetters wrote.
The largest percentages of the average consumer debt balance are mortgages.
Under current policy, the United States has about 20 years for corrective action after which no amount of future tax increases or spending cuts could avoid the government defaulting on its debt whether explicitly or implicitly (i.e., debt monetization producing significant inflation).
"Governments, then, must service their debts – pay interest and repay principal when bonds come due – but they don't necessarily have to pay them off; they can issue new bonds to pay principal on old bonds and even borrow to pay interest as long as overall debt doesn't rise too much faster than revenue," he added.
Characteristic | National debt in relation to GDP |
---|---|
Macao SAR | 0% |
Brunei Darussalam | 2.06% |
Kuwait | 3.08% |
Hong Kong SAR | 4.27% |
- Brunei. 3.2%
- Afghanistan. 7.8%
- Kuwait. 11.5%
- Democratic Republic of Congo. 15.2%
- Eswatini. 15.5%
- Palestine. 16.4%
- Russia. 17.8%
The macro leverage ratio, which measures total outstanding nonfinancial debt as a share of nominal gross domestic product, rose to 287.8% in 2023, 13.5 percentage points higher than a year ago, according to a report by the National Institution for Finance and Development (NIFD).
Characteristic | Securities in billion U.S. dollars |
---|---|
Japan | 1,153.1 |
China, Mainland | 797.7 |
United Kingdom | 753.5 |
Luxembourg | 376.5 |
Tax cuts, stimulus programs, increased government spending, and decreased tax revenue caused by widespread unemployment generally account for sharp rises in the national debt. Comparing a country's debt to its gross domestic product (GDP) reveals the country's ability to pay down its debt.
Who owns over 70% of the U.S. debt?
Of the $33T of debt, roughly 78% is owned by the public (70% US vs 30% International). The major US public owners include the FED ($6T, but they are no longer buyers), mutual funds, banks, states, pension funds and insurance companies.
- Japan. Japan held $1.15 trillion in Treasury securities as of January 2024, beating out China as the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt. ...
- China. China gets a lot of attention for holding a big chunk of the U.S. government's debt. ...
- The United Kingdom. ...
- Luxembourg. ...
- Canada.
Consequences of Owing Debt to the Chinese
If China called in all of its U.S. holdings, the U.S. dollar would depreciate, whereas the yuan would appreciate, making Chinese goods more expensive.
Low Interest Rates: Japan has maintained a low interest rate environment for an extended period, partly due to the Bank of Japan's monetary policies. This means that the cost of servicing the debt is re.
India takes the top spot. Its $39.7bn debt towards the WB recorded at the end of 2021 is double that of the next biggest debtor, Indonesia, with $19.6bn.
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