U.S. national debt surpasses $37 trillion

According to the live-tracking website for the U.S. national debt, this amounts to approximately $108,000 per American citizen.

The “U.S. national debt” refers to the total federal government debt owed to holders of U.S. Treasury securities.

At any given point in time, the national debt represents the face value of outstanding Treasury securities issued by the Treasury and other federal agencies.

The U.S. national debt consists of two main components:

Debt held by the public – such as Treasury securities.

Debt held by government accounts – such as the Social Security trust fund.