◈ UK National Debt — Public Sector Net Debt (PSND ex)
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Base: loading… · extrapolated live
Debt/GDP: —
Rising at: £4,090/sec
Annual deficit: ~£129bn
Per household: ~£102,000
Added since you opened this page
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Government Finances — 2026-27 Year to Date
Annual Deficit
The deficit is the gap between what the government spends and what it raises in taxes each year. Every year's deficit adds to the total national debt. Note: this clock extrapolates the deficit at a steady rate — actual daily borrowing varies throughout the year.
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Borrowing so far this fiscal year
▲ £4,090/sec
Total Govt Spending
Total managed expenditure — everything the government spends including departments, welfare, pensions and debt interest. Planned at £1,368bn for 2025-26.
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£1,368bn planned for 2025-26
▲ £43,359/sec
Tax Receipts
Total tax and other income received by the government. Includes income tax, National Insurance, VAT, and corporation tax. Expected to reach £1,235bn in 2025-26.
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£1,235bn expected for 2025-26
Debt Interest
The cost of servicing the national debt — interest paid to gilts holders. At ~£110bn, it is the third-largest item of public expenditure. For context, this is more than the entire UK defence budget.
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~£110bn annually — 3rd largest spend
▲ £3,488/sec
Welfare & Social Protection
Cash transfers including Universal Credit, housing benefit, tax credits and disability benefits. The single largest component of annually managed expenditure at £333bn. The State Pension makes up ~£125bn of this total.
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£333bn annually — largest AME item
State Pension
The State Pension alone costs ~£125bn per year — the single largest benefit payment. The triple lock guarantees it rises by the highest of inflation, earnings growth, or 2.5% annually.
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~£125bn annually — largest single benefit
NHS England
The NHS England budget covers hospital services, GP practices, mental health and community care. Funded entirely by general taxation — the UK's largest public service by spend.
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~£196bn in 2025-26
Defence
UK defence spending covers the armed forces, equipment, and NATO commitments at ~2% of GDP (~£62bn). For comparison, debt interest payments alone cost nearly twice as much.
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~£62bn annually — ~2% of GDP
Education
Total education spending covering schools, further and higher education in England plus block grants to devolved nations. Around £112bn per year.
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~£112bn annually
Comparisons
Debt interest vs Defence
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Debt interest payments cost — times more than the entire UK defence budget.
Deficit as % of NHS budget
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This year's deficit is equivalent to — of the entire NHS England budget.
Interest vs Education
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Debt interest payments cost — times more than the entire education budget.
Debt vs Annual GDP
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The national debt is equivalent to — of everything the UK economy produces in a year.
Interest as % of Tax Receipts
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Of every pound raised in tax, — goes straight to servicing the national debt before any public services are funded.
Working-age adult vs Taxpayer debt share
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Debt per working-age adult is —, vs — per taxpayer — a difference of —.
Real-world context — Inflation, wages & opportunity cost
Debt interest opportunity cost
~£110bn / year
Interest is the third-largest public spending item. It exceeds the entire defence budget and is roughly half the NHS England budget. Every pound spent on interest cannot fund services, tax cuts or investment.
Real regular pay growth
~0.3% (recent)
ONS data for early–mid 2026 shows real regular pay (CPIH-adjusted) growing at only around 0.3%. Nominal wage growth has slowed while the debt interest bill remains large, limiting fiscal room for tax relief or higher public-sector pay.
House prices (nominal)
Low single-digit growth
Average UK house prices have risen only modestly in 2025–26 (around 1–2.5% annually depending on the index). After the high inflation of 2021–23, real house prices remain below earlier peaks in many areas, especially London and the South East.
What £4,090 per second means
£245,400 / minute
At the current extrapolated rate the debt rises by roughly £14.7 million every working hour. Over a typical 8-hour working day that is nearly £118 million added — money that future taxpayers will service through interest.
Interest vs taxpayer
~£3,235 each
Dividing the annual interest bill by ~34 million taxpayers gives roughly £3,200+ per taxpayer per year that goes to debt servicing before any public service is paid for.
Long-term pressure
OBR warning
The OBR’s July 2026 Fiscal risks report shows that without further action, demographic pressures (health, pensions) plus rising net interest could put debt on an unsustainable upward path from the 2030s/2040s.
◈ UK Public Sector Net Debt as % of GDP
Historical data — ONS. Click "+ OBR Projections to 2030" to extend the chart.
Per Citizen
Debt per person
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Based on 67.6m UK population
Debt per working-age adult
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~41m adults aged 16–64 (ONS)
Spending per person (annual)
£20,237
£1,368bn ÷ 67.6m people
Tax per person (annual)
£18,268
£1,235bn ÷ 67.6m people
Interest per person (annual)
£1,627
~£110bn ÷ 67.6m people
Per Taxpayer
Debt per taxpayer
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~34m UK taxpayers (HMRC 2024/25)
Annual deficit per taxpayer
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Your share of this year's borrowing (annual rate)
Spending per taxpayer (annual)
£40,235
£1,368bn ÷ 34m taxpayers
Interest per taxpayer (annual)
£3,235
~£110bn ÷ 34m taxpayers
Economy
UK GDP (YTD)
Gross Domestic Product — the total value of all goods and services produced in the UK. Growing at ~1.3% in 2025 according to ONS estimates. The debt/GDP ratio shows how borrowing compares to the size of the economy.
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~£3.1 trillion annually; +1.3% in 2025
GDP per Second
How much economic value the UK generates every second (~£98,000). Compare this to the debt growth rate of £4,090/sec — for every £1 borrowed, the economy generates about £24.
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vs debt growth of £4,090/sec
UK Population
67,600,000
ONS mid-2024 estimate
UK Taxpayers
The number of individuals paying income tax in the UK. Smaller than total population as it excludes children, retirees below the personal allowance, and those earning under the tax threshold.
34,000,000
HMRC 2024/25 estimate
Debt base figure
Fetching from ONS…
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Last ONS refresh
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Counter motion
Live in browser
Extrapolated at £4,090/sec
The debt counter ticks live using published ONS PSND data (series BKQK) fetched on page load and refreshed every hour. The constant £4,090/sec rate is an average derived from the latest full-year deficit projection (not a claim about daily cash borrowing, which fluctuates). Annual totals are updated 2–3 times per year in line with major OBR publications. Last successful ONS figure is cached locally so the page still works if the API is temporarily unavailable. All figures are indicative and for illustrative purposes only.
Important: This clock is an illustrative tool based on published ONS and OBR data. The national debt is a liability of the public sector — it is not a personal debt owed by individual citizens. "Debt per person" and "debt per taxpayer" figures are mathematical divisions used to give scale, not legal obligations. Governments do not typically aim to fully repay national debt; they manage it as a share of GDP over time. Data is subject to revision.
PSND vs PSNFL: This page tracks Public Sector Net Debt excluding public sector banks (PSND ex) — the traditional headline measure. The government currently targets a broader balance-sheet measure, Public Sector Net Financial Liabilities (PSNFL), which is lower because it includes additional financial assets. Both are published by the ONS.
For authoritative figures, consult the ONS Public Sector Finances and Office for Budget Responsibility.
PSND vs PSNFL: This page tracks Public Sector Net Debt excluding public sector banks (PSND ex) — the traditional headline measure. The government currently targets a broader balance-sheet measure, Public Sector Net Financial Liabilities (PSNFL), which is lower because it includes additional financial assets. Both are published by the ONS.
For authoritative figures, consult the ONS Public Sector Finances and Office for Budget Responsibility.