US national debt is now bigger than the economy for first time since World War II

The U.S. national debt is now larger than the economy as a whole, hitting levels not seen since the aftermath of World War II, new data has revealed.

Figures released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Thursday place the total debt held by the American public at $31.27 trillion as of March 31.

Meanwhile, the country’s nominal gross domestic product was estimated at $31.22 trillion, meaning the national debt as a percentage of GDP stands at 100.2 percent, putting it on course to challenge the historic 106 percent recorded in 1946 during demobilization.

The debt stood at 99.5 percent of GDP at the end of the 2025 fiscal year in September, revealing how quickly it has climbed.

In February, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a 10-year budget and economic forecast that warned that, if the current trajectory is allowed to continue unchecked, the U.S. will break the post-war record by 2030, when its public-held debt is set to hit a projected 108 percent.

The CBO also warned that, a decade from now, debt held by the public as a share of GDP would stand at 120 percent, all of which threatens to slow economic growth and deter private investment.

The U.S. government is currently spending $1.33 for every dollar it collects in revenue and is facing a budget deficit projected at $1.9 trillion this year, according to The Wall Street Journal.

However, President Donald Trump has continued to insist that all is well, responding to Thursday’s mixed first-quarter economic outlook from the Commerce Department by saying: “More people are working right now than at any time in the history of our country.

“We’re doing great. And there’s more investment being made in the United States and any country at any time, at any time in history. And a lot of that, I and a lot of that maybe in a certain way, maybe more importantly, auto plants are all coming back to our country.”

Despite the president’s cheerleading, a majority of the public remain concerned about inflation and the ongoing affordability crisis.

That anxiety is perhaps most clearly expressed through Trump’s sliding approval ratings, with just 34 percent of respondents to a Reuters/Ipsos poll earlier this week saying they approve of the job he is doing in the White House as gas prices climb because of the Iran war.

Responding to the latest debt figures, Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said it was “only a matter of time” before the historic record was surpassed.

“This time, the borrowing isn’t borne from a seismic global conflict, but rather a total bipartisan abdication of making hard choices,” she said.

“The higher we allow our debt to grow, the more we erode our own prosperity and that of future generations. Rising debt compromises affordability by slowing income growth, pushing up interest rates, and increasing inflationary pressures.

“Debt squeezes our budgets with massive interest costs. It exposes us needlessly to challenges from geopolitical rivals. And without corrective action, rising debt could spark a devastating fiscal crisis.”

She added that lawmakers “need to stop the bleeding” to put the country’s financial future on a more sustainable path.