Definitions before conclusions
U.S. national debt glossary
Fiscal terms often sound interchangeable when they are not. These definitions match the labels used throughout The Debt Clock.
- Total public debt outstanding
- The Treasury’s broad total of debt held by the public plus intragovernmental holdings. This is the measure used by the clock.
- Debt held by the public
- Treasury securities held outside federal government accounts, including holdings by individuals, institutions, the Federal Reserve, and foreign investors and governments.
- Intragovernmental holdings
- Treasury securities held by federal government accounts, including trust funds. They are part of total public debt outstanding.
- Federal deficit
- The amount by which federal spending exceeds federal revenue during a stated period. The opposite is a surplus.
- Gross domestic product (GDP)
- The market value of goods and services produced by the economy. Nominal GDP uses current prices; real GDP adjusts for price changes.
- Debt-to-GDP ratio
- A selected debt measure divided by annual GDP. Always check which debt definition and GDP vintage were used.
- Gross interest expense
- Interest associated with Treasury debt before subtracting interest income received elsewhere by the federal government.
- Net interest outlays
- The budget measure of federal interest costs after certain interest income is offset. It differs from gross interest expense.
- Treasury security
- A bill, note, bond, inflation-protected security or other instrument through which the Treasury borrows.
- Confirmed figure
- A value published in an official source record. On this site, it is the latest Treasury Debt to the Penny total and date.
- Projection
- An estimate between official publications. Our projection is derived from a trailing, outlier-filtered daily change and is never labelled as confirmed.
- Nominal dollars
- Dollar amounts at prices applicable at the time, without adjustment for inflation. The historical debt table uses nominal dollars.
For official dataset-specific definitions, see the source list and methodology.
Put the definitions to work
TodayCurrent U.S. debtThe confirmed total, recent Treasury changes and the live projection.Personal scaleDebt per personPer resident, per taxpayer and a transparent household calculator.Since 1993Debt historyAn official year-end series, chart, table and downloadable JSON.ContextDebt by presidentAdministration-period changes without pretending presidents act alone.CostInterest on the debtAnnual, daily, hourly and per-person interest with the source shown.Economic scaleDebt-to-GDPWhat the ratio says, what it omits and how the current figure is calculated.Essential distinctionDebt versus deficitA balance on one date versus a budget gap measured across a period.Plain EnglishDebt glossaryThe definitions needed to compare fiscal numbers without mixing concepts.PublishFree debt clock widgetEmbed a sourced, accessible clock on any site with one line of HTML.BuildOpen data and APICurrent and historical JSON, CORS-enabled, with stable field definitions.