Nearly 70% of the US government’s debt is domestic

Over three-fourths of US debt is held by domestic and foreign investors

Of the domestic investors, the Federal Reserve is the largest holder. And, of the foreign investors, Japan is the largest holder, followed by China.

The US has carried debt since 1791

After the Revolutionary War, the US owed $75M to nations like France. Debt builds when spending exceeds revenue, funding programs, wars, and economic recovery efforts. Most debt is domestic, like Social Security bonds, with foreign nations also holding a share.

The national debt consists of public debt and intragovernmental debt

The national debt consists of money owed to private investors who have purchased Treasury securities and money owed by one sector of the government to another. They’re respectively called public debt and intragovernmental debt.

If the US government paid off its debt, it could disrupt the entire bond market

Treasury bonds are some of the most common bonds for investors, and the majority of the national debt is in bonds.

The national debt of the US has been trending upward for over a century

The national debt of the US fluctuates. A federally managed database is updated daily and shows how the debt constantly changes over a 24-hour period. It’s broken down by what the government owes individual investors (debt held by the public) and what’s due to one sector of the government by another (intragovernmental holdings).

Investors collectively own $28T in US Treasury securities

The 10-year Treasury yield is a central measure of the health of the economy, shaping how much both the government pays on its debt and the cost of borrowing for the private sector. This explainer provides stats and explainers on the important metric.

How much the federal government pays in interest on the debt

A significant portion of annual funding goes to servicing the federal government's public debt, which stood at $36T in 2025. That amount required roughly $1T in interest payments just for the year.

Individual income taxes are the federal government's primary revenue source, see a tracker that breaks down where the rest of the budget comes from

The US government historically makes nearly half of its total revenue last year from individual income taxes. But the US makes also makes money from a variety of other sources, including Medicare taxes and corporate income taxes. However, the federal government has run a deficit since 2001—reaching a peak of $3.13T in 2020.

Roughly 22% of US tax dollars go to Social Security

Social security is the US government’s largest expense. You can see other government expenses in a visual breakdown of what one US tax dollar actually pays for. Total spending amounts were converted to cents on the dollar and percentages.

The average US household carries $105,056 in total debt

This article breaks down the average household debt by category, including credit card debt ($6,523), personal loans ($11,274), and more.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

The federal deficit is the gap between what the US spends and what it collects

This US Treasury page explains how the federal deficit occurs when annual spending exceeds revenue, shows the current fiscal-year shortfall, and tracks how deficits rise and fall with economic conditions and policy choices.

Visualizing $102T of global debt

Which countries have the most debt? And how does it stack up against their gross domestic product? This visualization, based on data from the International Monetary Fund’s October 2024 outlook, has answers.

In 2021, Social Security began drawing down trust fund reserves to help pay for benefits

The Social Security trust funds are invested solely in US Treasury bonds. Any Social Security tax revenue surplus has historically been invested in these bonds, which are non-marketable securities available only to trust funds. The interest on these investments also contributes to program income.

Just 7% of student loan borrowers account for 40% of outstanding student loan debt

Most student loan debt went to support graduate studies. Total student loan debt in the US is more than $1.6T. Downloadable tables show the raw data behind federal student aid.

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

Nearly half of the discretionary funding in the US is allocated to national defense

The US accounts for roughly 35% of global military spending, with defense taking up nearly half of discretionary funds. In this discussion, Michael E. O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution explains why these levels are so high—and how they compare historically.

In 2020, government entities spent $316.5B on infrastructure, with state and local governments accounting for 34.8% of that amount.

Stablecoins like USDC are backed by real assets including US Treasurys and cash

While Tether (USDT) is primarily backed by US Treasury bills (64.9%), USDC is mostly backed by US Treasury repurchase agreements (49.6%). USDC also goes by the name Circle, given that it is owned by the company Circle Internet Financial.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

The global economy runs on US dollars

Nearly 90% of international trade in 2019 was processed in US dollars. It's not only the most circulated currency in the world but also considered one of the most stable.

In 2024, 74% of homebuyers took out a mortgage

Debt owed on mortgages made up about 70% of US consumer debt as of 2025. Mortgage collateral ensures the lender isn’t at a complete loss if the borrower defaults. Under most mortgage contracts, the property is considered collateral under the loan. This means that if a borrower doesn’t repay the loan, then the lender can seize their property.

Why countries have credit ratings

Sovereign credit ratings work like national credit scores, measuring a country’s ability and willingness to repay its debt. Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch are the major agencies assigning these ratings, which influence borrowing costs and investor confidence.

Tariffs are typically paid by the importing company or organization to the US treasury

Tariffs levied on foreign countries are typically paid by the importer upon arrival of goods—for example, if Walmart imported a $100 pair of shoes, they would pay the US treasury an additional $15 under a 15% tariff rate. The degree to which these costs are passed onto consumers depends on real-world business agreements.

Americans are projected to inherit $105T over the next 30 years

Today, someone's financial standing has more to do with their families than any other outside factor. Of the more than $100T of projected inheritance, that money is concentrated among a few wealthy estates and families.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Consumer spending accounts for 70% of US GDP, making Black Friday significant

Lizabeth Cohen, a history professor at Harvard and author of the book “A Consumer's Republic: The Politics Of Mass Consumption In Postwar America,” has argued that the US government has presented consumerism as a way out of economic crisis or decline since around World War II.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

The US produces far more waste and recycles far less of it than other developed countries

The US represents just 4% of the world’s population, but it produces 12% of global municipal solid waste. In comparison, China and India make up more than 36% of the world’s population and generate 27% of that waste.

The United States currently ranks number one for countries that enable the most financial secrecy

Financial secrecy refers to complex systems that make it easy for people and companies to hide assets. High levels of financial secrecy are associated with illegal activity, like drug trafficking and money laundering. Lax regulations around reporting who owns trusts, real estate, and businesses impact the United States' global financial secrecy ranking.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Lesser-known phobias include turophobia, or the fear of cheese, and nomophobia, the fear of being without your cell phone.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.