The U.S. national debt continued to soar in 2023, surpassing $33 trillion.
It’s still rising rapidly.
The U.S. Treasury Department estimates the national debt at $33.87 trillion, but the deficit figures for December could put the figure over $34 trillion.
For fiscal year 2023, which began on Oct. 1, 2022, and ended Sept. 30, 2023, the deficit rose about $1.7 trillion. The federal government spent $6.13 trillion while total revenue was only $4.44 trillion, according to the Treasury Department.
While the Treasury normally tracks the deficit by the fiscal year, a look at the monthly Treasury Department reports shows the federal government borrowed about $1.65 trillion this calendar year, not counting the unreleased data from December.