United States

The headline debt series on the US page uses the Treasury’s Debt to the Penny total federal debt. That is not the same as debt held by the public alone.

Why use total federal debt as the headline?

It is the most defensible series the Treasury publishes every business day. It includes both debt held by the public and intragovernmental holdings (such as the Social Security trust funds), and the statutory debt ceiling set by Congress applies to this total.

How is it different from debt held by the public?

Debt held by the public is only the portion held by markets, foreign investors, and the Federal Reserve. Total federal debt adds the amount held in government accounts. So matching this number directly against a debt-held-by-the-public comparison can mislead.

Can I cite the API directly?

Yes. /api/usa/live.json and /api/usa/snapshot.json return baseAsOf, citeAs, and per-series meta.