# What is the national debt?

*The total public debt of the United States from the Treasury's Debt to the Penny data, split into debt held by the public and intragovernmental holdings.*

- Type: Data
- Section: Business
- By: Business Desk
- Published: 2026-11-11T23:29:31-05:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T23:44:18-05:00
- URL: https://factsdesk.com/business/what-is-the-national-debt/

## Key facts

- The total public debt outstanding was $40.56 trillion on Nov 9, 2026, according to the Treasury's Debt to the Penny data. Source: [U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service](https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/). Confirmed 2026-11-11T23:44:18-05:00. Cite: https://factsdesk.com/business/what-is-the-national-debt/#the-total-public-debt-outstanding-was-40-56-trillion-on-nov
- Of that, $32.76 trillion was debt held by the public and $7.80 trillion was intragovernmental holdings. Source: [U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service](https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/). Confirmed 2026-11-11T23:44:18-05:00. Cite: https://factsdesk.com/business/what-is-the-national-debt/#of-that-32-76-trillion-was-debt-held-by-the-public-and-7-80
- That was $7,045,570,150.76 more than the total on Nov 6, 2026, the prior day with data. Source: [U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service](https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/). Confirmed 2026-11-11T23:44:18-05:00. Cite: https://factsdesk.com/business/what-is-the-national-debt/#that-was-7-045-570-150-76-more-than-the-total-on-nov-6-2026
- The Treasury reports the total outstanding debt of the U.S. government daily in its Debt to the Penny data. Source: [U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service](https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/). Confirmed 2026-11-11T23:44:18-05:00. Cite: https://factsdesk.com/business/what-is-the-national-debt/#the-treasury-reports-the-total-outstanding-debt-of-the-u-s

Last data: 2026-11-09T00:00:00-05:00 from [U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service](https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/), updated daily.

| Date | Total public debt outstanding | Debt held by the public | Intragovernmental holdings |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nov 9, 2026 | $40,559,796,589,243.37 | $32,763,773,414,012.50 | $7,796,023,175,230.87 |
| Nov 6, 2026 | $40,552,751,019,092.61 | $32,762,925,356,629.47 | $7,789,825,662,463.14 |
| Nov 5, 2026 | $40,556,120,784,983.65 | $32,766,722,473,715.61 | $7,789,398,311,268.04 |
| Nov 4, 2026 | $40,550,230,047,609.15 | $32,765,175,912,225.50 | $7,785,054,135,383.65 |
| Nov 3, 2026 | $40,547,403,570,984.82 | $32,765,330,118,710.62 | $7,782,073,452,274.20 |
| Nov 2, 2026 | $40,502,080,966,097.14 | $32,719,901,942,674.43 | $7,782,179,023,422.71 |
| Oct 30, 2026 | $40,524,510,013,062.41 | $32,738,422,032,176.85 | $7,786,087,980,885.56 |
| Oct 29, 2026 | $40,593,637,262,883.48 | $32,712,190,190,967.42 | $7,881,447,071,916.06 |
| Oct 28, 2026 | $40,551,054,852,362.41 | $32,671,924,859,186.91 | $7,879,129,993,175.50 |
| Oct 27, 2026 | $40,582,274,254,843.57 | $32,677,379,585,770.57 | $7,904,894,669,073.00 |

Dollar amounts as the Treasury reports them for each day with data, newest first.

The key facts at the top give the total public debt outstanding on the latest day the Treasury reports, and the table lists the last 10 days with data, newest first.

## The two parts of the debt

The Treasury splits the total into two parts. Debt held by the public is federal debt held by entities outside the U.S. government. Intragovernmental holdings are federal debt held by the U.S. government itself, in its own accounts.

## When it updates

The Treasury reports the debt daily in its Debt to the Penny data, which has a row only for business days. This page reads that data every few hours and updates at the same address.

## Sources

1. [Debt to the Penny](https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/), U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, 2026-11-09 (primary source)