AmericaUnited States / Public finances
U.S. Federal Debt as Share of GDP.
Which federal debt measure are we comparing?
The historical record
Older reporting periodQ1 2026
Latest observation in this snapshot—not a real-time reading. ↑ <0.1 pp vs Q4 2025.
Fitted vertical axis · missing periods are not interpolated · quarterly
What the number means
Gross federal debt as a share of gross domestic product.
Gross federal debt includes intragovernmental holdings, unlike debt held by the public. The ratio can move when debt or GDP changes. It is not a direct measure of annual borrowing, interest costs, or government service quality.
Includes intragovernmental holdings; not the same as debt held by the public. FRED calculates this ratio from Treasury debt and BEA GDP series.
A better question to ask
When evaluating fiscal claims, ask for the debt definition, time horizon, assumptions, and effects on services and households.
This is a prompt for investigation, not evidence that a particular policy works. A trend alone cannot establish a cause.
Read the related practical guide ↗Exact observations
105 available observations since 2000. Annual and quarterly dates represent the start of the reporting period; fiscal years are labeled explicitly. Display values are rounded to the precision shown; downloads retain the source values.
Open the complete data table
| Reporting period | Period start | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | 2026-01-01 | 122.6% |
| Q4 2025 | 2025-10-01 | 122.6% |
| Q3 2025 | 2025-07-01 | 121.0% |
| Q2 2025 | 2025-04-01 | 118.8% |
| Q1 2025 | 2025-01-01 | 120.5% |
| Q4 2024 | 2024-10-01 | 121.4% |
| Q3 2024 | 2024-07-01 | 120.2% |
| Q2 2024 | 2024-04-01 | 119.5% |
| Q1 2024 | 2024-01-01 | 120.5% |
| Q4 2023 | 2023-10-01 | 119.6% |
| Q3 2023 | 2023-07-01 | 118.1% |
| Q2 2023 | 2023-04-01 | 117.4% |
| Q1 2023 | 2023-01-01 | 115.6% |
| Q4 2022 | 2022-10-01 | 117.4% |
| Q3 2022 | 2022-07-01 | 117.4% |
| Q2 2022 | 2022-04-01 | 118.2% |
| Q1 2022 | 2022-01-01 | 120.4% |
| Q4 2021 | 2021-10-01 | 119.4% |
| Q3 2021 | 2021-07-01 | 118.5% |
| Q2 2021 | 2021-04-01 | 121.8% |
| Q1 2021 | 2021-01-01 | 124.0% |
| Q4 2020 | 2020-10-01 | 125.6% |
| Q3 2020 | 2020-07-01 | 124.1% |
| Q2 2020 | 2020-04-01 | 132.7% |
| Q1 2020 | 2020-01-01 | 106.8% |
| Q4 2019 | 2019-10-01 | 105.8% |
| Q3 2019 | 2019-07-01 | 104.6% |
| Q2 2019 | 2019-04-01 | 102.9% |
| Q1 2019 | 2019-01-01 | 104.3% |
| Q4 2018 | 2018-10-01 | 105.0% |
| Q3 2018 | 2018-07-01 | 103.4% |
| Q2 2018 | 2018-04-01 | 103.0% |
| Q1 2018 | 2018-01-01 | 103.7% |
| Q4 2017 | 2017-10-01 | 102.3% |
| Q3 2017 | 2017-07-01 | 102.8% |
| Q2 2017 | 2017-04-01 | 102.1% |
| Q1 2017 | 2017-01-01 | 102.9% |
| Q4 2016 | 2016-10-01 | 104.6% |
| Q3 2016 | 2016-07-01 | 103.6% |
| Q2 2016 | 2016-04-01 | 103.6% |
| Q1 2016 | 2016-01-01 | 104.0% |
| Q4 2015 | 2015-10-01 | 102.6% |
| Q3 2015 | 2015-07-01 | 98.6% |
| Q2 2015 | 2015-04-01 | 99.3% |
| Q1 2015 | 2015-01-01 | 100.5% |
| Q4 2014 | 2014-10-01 | 101.3% |
| Q3 2014 | 2014-07-01 | 100.1% |
| Q2 2014 | 2014-04-01 | 100.7% |
| Q1 2014 | 2014-01-01 | 102.3% |
| Q4 2013 | 2013-10-01 | 99.8% |
| Q3 2013 | 2013-07-01 | 98.7% |
| Q2 2013 | 2013-04-01 | 100.1% |
| Q1 2013 | 2013-01-01 | 100.7% |
| Q4 2012 | 2012-10-01 | 100.1% |
| Q3 2012 | 2012-07-01 | 98.4% |
| Q2 2012 | 2012-04-01 | 97.8% |
| Q1 2012 | 2012-01-01 | 97.1% |
| Q4 2011 | 2011-10-01 | 96.1% |
| Q3 2011 | 2011-07-01 | 94.5% |
| Q2 2011 | 2011-04-01 | 92.2% |
| Q1 2011 | 2011-01-01 | 93.0% |
| Q4 2010 | 2010-10-01 | 91.6% |
| Q3 2010 | 2010-07-01 | 89.6% |
| Q2 2010 | 2010-04-01 | 88.1% |
| Q1 2010 | 2010-01-01 | 86.5% |
| Q4 2009 | 2009-10-01 | 84.0% |
| Q3 2009 | 2009-07-01 | 82.4% |
| Q2 2009 | 2009-04-01 | 80.3% |
| Q1 2009 | 2009-01-01 | 77.1% |
| Q4 2008 | 2008-10-01 | 73.2% |
| Q3 2008 | 2008-07-01 | 67.3% |
| Q2 2008 | 2008-04-01 | 63.9% |
| Q1 2008 | 2008-01-01 | 64.2% |
| Q4 2007 | 2007-10-01 | 62.7% |
| Q3 2007 | 2007-07-01 | 61.8% |
| Q2 2007 | 2007-04-01 | 61.6% |
| Q1 2007 | 2007-01-01 | 62.3% |
| Q4 2006 | 2006-10-01 | 61.8% |
| Q3 2006 | 2006-07-01 | 61.3% |
| Q2 2006 | 2006-04-01 | 61.2% |
| Q1 2006 | 2006-01-01 | 61.6% |
| Q4 2005 | 2005-10-01 | 61.3% |
| Q3 2005 | 2005-07-01 | 60.4% |
| Q2 2005 | 2005-04-01 | 60.6% |
| Q1 2005 | 2005-01-01 | 60.9% |
| Q4 2004 | 2004-10-01 | 60.6% |
| Q3 2004 | 2004-07-01 | 60.0% |
| Q2 2004 | 2004-04-01 | 60.1% |
| Q1 2004 | 2004-01-01 | 59.8% |
| Q4 2003 | 2003-10-01 | 59.4% |
| Q3 2003 | 2003-07-01 | 58.6% |
| Q2 2003 | 2003-04-01 | 59.0% |
| Q1 2003 | 2003-01-01 | 57.8% |
| Q4 2002 | 2002-10-01 | 57.9% |
| Q3 2002 | 2002-07-01 | 56.7% |
| Q2 2002 | 2002-04-01 | 56.3% |
| Q1 2002 | 2002-01-01 | 55.7% |
| Q4 2001 | 2001-10-01 | 55.8% |
| Q3 2001 | 2001-07-01 | 54.8% |
| Q2 2001 | 2001-04-01 | 54.0% |
| Q1 2001 | 2001-01-01 | 55.1% |
| Q4 2000 | 2000-10-01 | 54.3% |
| Q3 2000 | 2000-07-01 | 55.0% |
| Q2 2000 | 2000-04-01 | 55.5% |
| Q1 2000 | 2000-01-01 | 57.7% |
Follow this series home
- Series identifier
- GFDEGDQ188S
- Provider
- FRED / original statistical source
- Original source attribution
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, using U.S. Treasury and BEA data
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Source units
- Percent of GDP , Seasonally Adjusted
- Displayed units
- % of GDP
- Retrieval time
- 2026-10-04T09:04:46.416Z
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