National debt: latest evidence and sources
Lead figure · Latest ONS observation · UK
£2.99tn
Exact published value: £2,985,500,000,000
August 2026 · 93.8% of GDP · published 22 September 2026.
A dated debt stock, not a live counter or an estimate between releases.
History card
Public sector net debt history
Public sector net debt: ten-year direction
End-month ONS debt stock excluding public sector banks. Values are dated observations, not a live counter.
2016 SEP to 2026 AUG
Interactive chart unavailable. The published figures remain available in the surrounding summary and source information.
Latest published values for 2026 AUG: Debt stock: £2985.5bn
Vertical axis: £1520bn to £3102bn; bounds fitted to these observations, not zero-based.
Debt stockMarked dates: known UK events, for reference only
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Show observation table (120)
| Period | Observed at | Debt stock |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 SEP | 2016-09-30 | £1628.7bn |
| 2016 OCT | 2016-10-31 | £1640.7bn |
| 2016 NOV | 2016-11-30 | £1658.7bn |
| 2016 DEC | 2016-12-31 | £1690.7bn |
| 2017 JAN | 2017-01-31 | £1661.0bn |
| 2017 FEB | 2017-02-28 | £1683.9bn |
| 2017 MAR | 2017-03-31 | £1714.6bn |
| 2017 APR | 2017-04-30 | £1713.5bn |
| 2017 MAY | 2017-05-31 | £1727.5bn |
| 2017 JUN | 2017-06-30 | £1750.7bn |
| 2017 JUL | 2017-07-31 | £1749.8bn |
| 2017 AUG | 2017-08-31 | £1751.5bn |
| 2017 SEP | 2017-09-30 | £1774.7bn |
| 2017 OCT | 2017-10-31 | £1760.4bn |
| 2017 NOV | 2017-11-30 | £1750.0bn |
| 2017 DEC | 2017-12-31 | £1746.4bn |
| 2018 JAN | 2018-01-31 | £1728.9bn |
| 2018 FEB | 2018-02-28 | £1754.0bn |
| 2018 MAR | 2018-03-31 | £1760.1bn |
| 2018 APR | 2018-04-30 | £1772.1bn |
| 2018 MAY | 2018-05-31 | £1774.3bn |
| 2018 JUN | 2018-06-30 | £1782.1bn |
| 2018 JUL | 2018-07-31 | £1764.4bn |
| 2018 AUG | 2018-08-31 | £1772.6bn |
| 2018 SEP | 2018-09-30 | £1777.9bn |
| 2018 OCT | 2018-10-31 | £1783.7bn |
| 2018 NOV | 2018-11-30 | £1789.0bn |
| 2018 DEC | 2018-12-31 | £1800.7bn |
| 2019 JAN | 2019-01-31 | £1771.4bn |
| 2019 FEB | 2019-02-28 | £1774.6bn |
| 2019 MAR | 2019-03-31 | £1778.0bn |
| 2019 APR | 2019-04-30 | £1788.7bn |
| 2019 MAY | 2019-05-31 | £1798.0bn |
| 2019 JUN | 2019-06-30 | £1810.0bn |
| 2019 JUL | 2019-07-31 | £1795.5bn |
| 2019 AUG | 2019-08-31 | £1793.2bn |
| 2019 SEP | 2019-09-30 | £1808.5bn |
| 2019 OCT | 2019-10-31 | £1822.1bn |
| 2019 NOV | 2019-11-30 | £1828.1bn |
| 2019 DEC | 2019-12-31 | £1837.2bn |
| 2020 JAN | 2020-01-31 | £1812.3bn |
| 2020 FEB | 2020-02-29 | £1807.8bn |
| 2020 MAR | 2020-03-31 | £1814.8bn |
| 2020 APR | 2020-04-30 | £1917.3bn |
| 2020 MAY | 2020-05-31 | £1988.6bn |
| 2020 JUN | 2020-06-30 | £2024.3bn |
| 2020 JUL | 2020-07-31 | £2035.5bn |
| 2020 AUG | 2020-08-31 | £2067.0bn |
| 2020 SEP | 2020-09-30 | £2069.8bn |
| 2020 OCT | 2020-10-31 | £2101.1bn |
| 2020 NOV | 2020-11-30 | £2130.1bn |
| 2020 DEC | 2020-12-31 | £2154.2bn |
| 2021 JAN | 2021-01-31 | £2135.9bn |
| 2021 FEB | 2021-02-28 | £2159.5bn |
| 2021 MAR | 2021-03-31 | £2157.7bn |
| 2021 APR | 2021-04-30 | £2194.0bn |
| 2021 MAY | 2021-05-31 | £2220.1bn |
| 2021 JUN | 2021-06-30 | £2227.1bn |
| 2021 JUL | 2021-07-31 | £2240.4bn |
| 2021 AUG | 2021-08-31 | £2230.2bn |
| 2021 SEP | 2021-09-30 | £2237.3bn |
| 2021 OCT | 2021-10-31 | £2321.8bn |
| 2021 NOV | 2021-11-30 | £2352.2bn |
| 2021 DEC | 2021-12-31 | £2364.5bn |
| 2022 JAN | 2022-01-31 | £2351.1bn |
| 2022 FEB | 2022-02-28 | £2352.2bn |
| 2022 MAR | 2022-03-31 | £2379.7bn |
| 2022 APR | 2022-04-30 | £2383.1bn |
| 2022 MAY | 2022-05-31 | £2400.4bn |
| 2022 JUN | 2022-06-30 | £2424.5bn |
| 2022 JUL | 2022-07-31 | £2419.3bn |
| 2022 AUG | 2022-08-31 | £2428.8bn |
| 2022 SEP | 2022-09-30 | £2442.0bn |
| 2022 OCT | 2022-10-31 | £2453.5bn |
| 2022 NOV | 2022-11-30 | £2476.7bn |
| 2022 DEC | 2022-12-31 | £2499.2bn |
| 2023 JAN | 2023-01-31 | £2486.8bn |
| 2023 FEB | 2023-02-28 | £2511.0bn |
| 2023 MAR | 2023-03-31 | £2542.7bn |
| 2023 APR | 2023-04-30 | £2550.0bn |
| 2023 MAY | 2023-05-31 | £2579.6bn |
| 2023 JUN | 2023-06-30 | £2608.5bn |
| 2023 JUL | 2023-07-31 | £2590.0bn |
| 2023 AUG | 2023-08-31 | £2605.0bn |
| 2023 SEP | 2023-09-30 | £2607.7bn |
| 2023 OCT | 2023-10-31 | £2648.8bn |
| 2023 NOV | 2023-11-30 | £2675.6bn |
| 2023 DEC | 2023-12-31 | £2694.0bn |
| 2024 JAN | 2024-01-31 | £2652.6bn |
| 2024 FEB | 2024-02-29 | £2669.0bn |
| 2024 MAR | 2024-03-31 | £2684.1bn |
| 2024 APR | 2024-04-30 | £2674.5bn |
| 2024 MAY | 2024-05-31 | £2719.2bn |
| 2024 JUN | 2024-06-30 | £2730.3bn |
| 2024 JUL | 2024-07-31 | £2735.2bn |
| 2024 AUG | 2024-08-31 | £2757.9bn |
| 2024 SEP | 2024-09-30 | £2757.9bn |
| 2024 OCT | 2024-10-31 | £2780.7bn |
| 2024 NOV | 2024-11-30 | £2815.8bn |
| 2024 DEC | 2024-12-31 | £2816.4bn |
| 2025 JAN | 2025-01-31 | £2775.2bn |
| 2025 FEB | 2025-02-28 | £2796.0bn |
| 2025 MAR | 2025-03-31 | £2806.7bn |
| 2025 APR | 2025-04-30 | £2826.2bn |
| 2025 MAY | 2025-05-31 | £2868.7bn |
| 2025 JUN | 2025-06-30 | £2868.4bn |
| 2025 JUL | 2025-07-31 | £2889.5bn |
| 2025 AUG | 2025-08-31 | £2907.0bn |
| 2025 SEP | 2025-09-30 | £2913.3bn |
| 2025 OCT | 2025-10-31 | £2896.5bn |
| 2025 NOV | 2025-11-30 | £2926.3bn |
| 2025 DEC | 2025-12-31 | £2924.5bn |
| 2026 JAN | 2026-01-31 | £2870.4bn |
| 2026 FEB | 2026-02-28 | £2886.9bn |
| 2026 MAR | 2026-03-31 | £2916.8bn |
| 2026 APR | 2026-04-30 | £2938.2bn |
| 2026 MAY | 2026-05-31 | £2972.6bn |
| 2026 JUN | 2026-06-30 | £2992.5bn |
| 2026 JUL | 2026-07-31 | £2982.0bn |
| 2026 AUG | 2026-08-31 | £2985.5bn |
What changed?
Latest official stock; no movement inferred from one observation
The latest verified observation is £2,985,500,000,000 for August 2026, or 93.8% of GDP. public-data.org does not project the stock between releases or claim a monthly change without a matched comparison series.
- Annual change in debt stock
- +£78.5bn
- Annual change in debt-to-GDP
- -1.3 percentage points
Debt relative to GDP
The matching ONS debt-to-GDP series places the stock against the size of the economy on the same publication basis.
2016 SEP to 2026 AUG
Interactive chart unavailable. The published figures remain available in the surrounding summary and source information.
Latest published values for 2026 AUG: Debt-to-GDP: 93.8%
Vertical axis: 77.8% to 99.6%; bounds fitted to these observations, not zero-based.
Debt-to-GDPMarked dates: known UK events, for reference only
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Show observation table (120)
| Period | Observed at | Debt-to-GDP |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 SEP | 2016-09-30 | 80.3% |
| 2016 OCT | 2016-10-31 | 80.6% |
| 2016 NOV | 2016-11-30 | 81.2% |
| 2016 DEC | 2016-12-31 | 82.5% |
| 2017 JAN | 2017-01-31 | 80.7% |
| 2017 FEB | 2017-02-28 | 81.5% |
| 2017 MAR | 2017-03-31 | 82.7% |
| 2017 APR | 2017-04-30 | 82.3% |
| 2017 MAY | 2017-05-31 | 82.7% |
| 2017 JUN | 2017-06-30 | 83.5% |
| 2017 JUL | 2017-07-31 | 83.2% |
| 2017 AUG | 2017-08-31 | 83.1% |
| 2017 SEP | 2017-09-30 | 83.9% |
| 2017 OCT | 2017-10-31 | 83.0% |
| 2017 NOV | 2017-11-30 | 82.2% |
| 2017 DEC | 2017-12-31 | 81.8% |
| 2018 JAN | 2018-01-31 | 80.8% |
| 2018 FEB | 2018-02-28 | 81.7% |
| 2018 MAR | 2018-03-31 | 81.7% |
| 2018 APR | 2018-04-30 | 82.0% |
| 2018 MAY | 2018-05-31 | 81.9% |
| 2018 JUN | 2018-06-30 | 82.1% |
| 2018 JUL | 2018-07-31 | 81.0% |
| 2018 AUG | 2018-08-31 | 81.2% |
| 2018 SEP | 2018-09-30 | 81.2% |
| 2018 OCT | 2018-10-31 | 81.2% |
| 2018 NOV | 2018-11-30 | 81.2% |
| 2018 DEC | 2018-12-31 | 81.4% |
| 2019 JAN | 2019-01-31 | 79.9% |
| 2019 FEB | 2019-02-28 | 79.8% |
| 2019 MAR | 2019-03-31 | 79.7% |
| 2019 APR | 2019-04-30 | 79.9% |
| 2019 MAY | 2019-05-31 | 80.1% |
| 2019 JUN | 2019-06-30 | 80.3% |
| 2019 JUL | 2019-07-31 | 79.6% |
| 2019 AUG | 2019-08-31 | 79.3% |
| 2019 SEP | 2019-09-30 | 79.9% |
| 2019 OCT | 2019-10-31 | 81.5% |
| 2019 NOV | 2019-11-30 | 82.8% |
| 2019 DEC | 2019-12-31 | 84.2% |
| 2020 JAN | 2020-01-31 | 83.5% |
| 2020 FEB | 2020-02-29 | 83.7% |
| 2020 MAR | 2020-03-31 | 84.5% |
| 2020 APR | 2020-04-30 | 89.6% |
| 2020 MAY | 2020-05-31 | 93.2% |
| 2020 JUN | 2020-06-30 | 95.3% |
| 2020 JUL | 2020-07-31 | 96.0% |
| 2020 AUG | 2020-08-31 | 97.7% |
| 2020 SEP | 2020-09-30 | 98.1% |
| 2020 OCT | 2020-10-31 | 98.1% |
| 2020 NOV | 2020-11-30 | 98.0% |
| 2020 DEC | 2020-12-31 | 97.7% |
| 2021 JAN | 2021-01-31 | 96.1% |
| 2021 FEB | 2021-02-28 | 96.3% |
| 2021 MAR | 2021-03-31 | 95.5% |
| 2021 APR | 2021-04-30 | 96.2% |
| 2021 MAY | 2021-05-31 | 96.5% |
| 2021 JUN | 2021-06-30 | 95.9% |
| 2021 JUL | 2021-07-31 | 95.4% |
| 2021 AUG | 2021-08-31 | 93.9% |
| 2021 SEP | 2021-09-30 | 93.2% |
| 2021 OCT | 2021-10-31 | 95.9% |
| 2021 NOV | 2021-11-30 | 96.4% |
| 2021 DEC | 2021-12-31 | 96.2% |
| 2022 JAN | 2022-01-31 | 94.8% |
| 2022 FEB | 2022-02-28 | 94.0% |
| 2022 MAR | 2022-03-31 | 94.3% |
| 2022 APR | 2022-04-30 | 93.7% |
| 2022 MAY | 2022-05-31 | 93.7% |
| 2022 JUN | 2022-06-30 | 93.9% |
| 2022 JUL | 2022-07-31 | 93.1% |
| 2022 AUG | 2022-08-31 | 92.8% |
| 2022 SEP | 2022-09-30 | 92.7% |
| 2022 OCT | 2022-10-31 | 92.5% |
| 2022 NOV | 2022-11-30 | 92.8% |
| 2022 DEC | 2022-12-31 | 93.1% |
| 2023 JAN | 2023-01-31 | 92.1% |
| 2023 FEB | 2023-02-28 | 92.5% |
| 2023 MAR | 2023-03-31 | 93.1% |
| 2023 APR | 2023-04-30 | 93.1% |
| 2023 MAY | 2023-05-31 | 94.0% |
| 2023 JUN | 2023-06-30 | 94.8% |
| 2023 JUL | 2023-07-31 | 93.7% |
| 2023 AUG | 2023-08-31 | 93.8% |
| 2023 SEP | 2023-09-30 | 93.5% |
| 2023 OCT | 2023-10-31 | 94.6% |
| 2023 NOV | 2023-11-30 | 95.2% |
| 2023 DEC | 2023-12-31 | 95.5% |
| 2024 JAN | 2024-01-31 | 93.7% |
| 2024 FEB | 2024-02-29 | 93.9% |
| 2024 MAR | 2024-03-31 | 94.1% |
| 2024 APR | 2024-04-30 | 93.4% |
| 2024 MAY | 2024-05-31 | 94.5% |
| 2024 JUN | 2024-06-30 | 94.5% |
| 2024 JUL | 2024-07-31 | 94.2% |
| 2024 AUG | 2024-08-31 | 94.5% |
| 2024 SEP | 2024-09-30 | 94.0% |
| 2024 OCT | 2024-10-31 | 94.4% |
| 2024 NOV | 2024-11-30 | 95.2% |
| 2024 DEC | 2024-12-31 | 94.8% |
| 2025 JAN | 2025-01-31 | 93.1% |
| 2025 FEB | 2025-02-28 | 93.4% |
| 2025 MAR | 2025-03-31 | 93.4% |
| 2025 APR | 2025-04-30 | 93.8% |
| 2025 MAY | 2025-05-31 | 94.9% |
| 2025 JUN | 2025-06-30 | 94.5% |
| 2025 JUL | 2025-07-31 | 94.9% |
| 2025 AUG | 2025-08-31 | 95.1% |
| 2025 SEP | 2025-09-30 | 94.9% |
| 2025 OCT | 2025-10-31 | 94.0% |
| 2025 NOV | 2025-11-30 | 94.6% |
| 2025 DEC | 2025-12-31 | 94.2% |
| 2026 JAN | 2026-01-31 | 92.3% |
| 2026 FEB | 2026-02-28 | 92.6% |
| 2026 MAR | 2026-03-31 | 93.3% |
| 2026 APR | 2026-04-30 | 93.6% |
| 2026 MAY | 2026-05-31 | 94.3% |
| 2026 JUN | 2026-06-30 | 94.6% |
| 2026 JUL | 2026-07-31 | 94.0% |
| 2026 AUG | 2026-08-31 | 93.8% |
Why it matters
Debt records the accumulated stock of past borrowing after financial assets are netted off. The level and its ratio to GDP help describe the scale of public liabilities, but do not alone show whether today's fiscal policy is sustainable.
Explain this number
Definition
Public sector net debt excluding public sector banks, ONS series HF6W. The matching GDP ratio is series HF6X.
Unit and geography
Pounds and percentage of GDP · United Kingdom
How to interpret it
The cash figure is the debt stock at the end of the stated month. The percentage places that stock against the size of the economy on the ONS basis used in the same release.
Important caveat
Public-sector-finance estimates can be revised as source data and classifications are updated. Other debt measures use different coverage and are not interchangeable.
Source and date
ONS HF6W public sector net debt series · Published 22 September 2026 · observation period August 2026