As of early June 2025, total US national debt stands at approximately $36.2 trillion according to ourmidland.com (+10); jec.senate.gov (10); and ftportfolios (+10) (inclusive of both long-term debt). This figure includes both direct debt service costs as well as future obligations such as entitlement programs such as Social Security.
Public debt (marketable Treasury bills, bonds and notes) amounts to roughly $28.8 trillion according to usafacts.org’s estimate; this includes marketable Treasury bills, bonds and notes held by the public – approximately $28.8 trillion for marketable Treasury bills alone (joint Committee on Senate Administration (JCSBA). Furthermore congress.gov + 2 and wikipedia both also contribute roughly the same figure.
Intragovernmental holdings (nonmarketable debt owed to U.S. government trust funds) – estimated at over $7.4 trillion
Nasdaq.com; En.wikipedia; And Fiscaldata.treasury.gov.
That works out to roughly $106,000 per American adult, according to usafacts.org.
Who Holds U.S. Debt?
- Domestic & Governmental Holders
The U.S. holds approximately $7.4 trillion of intragovernmental debt through trust funds like Social Security, Medicare and federal employee retirement systems (treasury.gov +6, en.wikipedia +6 and pgpf +6) (treasury.gov and en.wikipedia respectively). 2 Foreign Holders
Foreigners account for between 24-25 percent of publicly held debt–about $9 trillion–according to en.wikipedia.org, as of April 2025. Of this figure, Japan alone holds roughly 13%. As per April 2025’s figures from Macromicro.me (Nasdaq and Wikipedia respectively) the largest holders were; as per April 2025; these countries include; Its Japan: PS1.13 Trillion Holdings @ En.macromicro.me * UK 808 Billion [], umplut with China at 7.57 Billion].
Belgium ($411B), Luxembourg, Ireland and Cayman Islands rank as top holders with GDP exceeding $411 billion, among others (nypost.com +7, en.wikipedia.org +7 and Treasury.gov =7) – these top holders account for roughly one fifth of global economic output each. - Domestic and Institutional Investors Most of the remaining public debt is owned by U.S. banks, investment funds, state/local governments and individual investors who hold accounts as part of its $28.8 trillion total; investopedia.com+1
congress.gov+1 for additional details. But Why It Matters (according to Congress.gov+1).
Rising Interest Costs: Annual interest payments on this debt reached about $776 billion by FY 2025–equivalent to approximately 16 percent of federal spending (according to fiscaldata.treasury.gov and Wikipedia respectively).
Credit Risk: Rising deficits and debt have led rating agencies to downgrade U.S. credit, prompting global investors to diversify away from Treasuries; for this reason reuters.com reported.
Recent analysis by Reuters identified a global peak in Treasury holdings at $9.05 trillion by March 2025, accompanied by signs of withdrawal by foreign buyers (reuters.com/). As key takeaways from this analysis are presented, Key Takeaways could include
Total national debt stands at $36.2 trillion — $30.2 trillion public and $7.4 trillion intragovernmental.
Foreign investors hold approximately 25% of public debt, led by Japan, the U.K. and China.
Domestic institutions and individuals collectively hold onto the remainder.
Interest payments (approx. $776B) have become a significant budgetary constraint.
Market confidence remains uncertain: Credit downgrades and gradual diversification away from Treasuries have begun.
Why Should You Care? Fiscal Consequences: With increased debt comes increased interest costs that, left unchecked, may force cutbacks to Social Security, Defense or Healthcare services.
Economic Effect: Debt market pressure can lead to higher interest rates on mortgages, student loans and business borrowing.
Global Finance: Decreased demand for U.S. Treasuries could reduce their price and weakening national financial strength.