# The UK national debt and public finances

How much the UK government owes, how much it is borrowing, and the fuller state of the public balance sheet, from the official ONS public sector finances. At the end of May 2026 public sector net debt stood at about 95.1 per cent of GDP, roughly 2,835 billion pounds excluding the Bank of England, its highest as a share of the economy since the early 1960s. This page shows the debt, the borrowing behind it, and how the wider balance sheet looks.

Source page: https://britishresilienceindex.com/deep-dive/national-debt
Machine readable data: https://britishresilienceindex.com/data/deep-dive/national-debt.json

## How to read this

These are the Office for National Statistics public sector finances, the monthly official record of what the state owes and borrows. Public sector net debt is money owed to lenders in the UK and abroad, less the government's liquid assets, expressed both as a share of GDP and in pounds. Borrowing, or the deficit, is the gap between spending and income in a period. Two fuller measures, net financial liabilities and net worth, bring in more of the balance sheet. Figures are provisional and revised as fuller data arrives.

## Debt is back near the size of the whole economy

At the end of May 2026 public sector net debt was about 95.1 per cent of GDP. In cash terms that is around 2,835 billion pounds on the measure that excludes the Bank of England, the figure most often called the national debt, and about 2,984.3 billion pounds on the wider measure that excludes only the public sector banks. Debt as a share of the economy is now at a level last seen in the early 1960s. It climbed through the financial crisis, jumped again during the pandemic, and has stayed close to the size of national income ever since. The gap between the two debt measures is the Bank of England's own borrowing, which rose sharply while it was buying government bonds and is now unwinding.

- **Debt pct**: 95.1
- **Debt bn ex bo e**: 2,835
- **Debt bn ex banks**: 2,984.3

## From under a quarter of GDP to almost all of it

On the ONS measure that excludes the public sector banks, debt fell to a low of about 22 per cent of GDP in the early 1990s, then rose steadily. The financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 pushed it up by tens of points, and the pandemic took it from about 84 per cent in early 2020 to more than 95 per cent within a year, as the state borrowed heavily to support incomes and businesses. It has held near that level since. Each bar is the position at the start of the financial year, with the final point the latest monthly reading.

**Series**

| year | pct |
|---|---|
| 1,975 | 47.8 |
| 1,976 | 49.4 |
| 1,977 | 47.8 |
| 1,978 | 44.4 |
| 1,979 | 42.2 |
| 1,980 | 39.1 |
| 1,981 | 40.4 |
| 1,982 | 40.1 |
| 1,983 | 38.7 |
| 1,984 | 38.9 |
| 1,985 | 38.7 |
| 1,986 | 37.1 |
| 1,987 | 34.8 |
| 1,988 | 31 |
| 1,989 | 25.6 |
| 1,990 | 23.1 |
| 1,991 | 21.7 |
| 1,992 | 22.9 |
| 1,993 | 26.7 |
| 1,994 | 31.2 |
| 1,995 | 34.6 |
| 1,996 | 36.1 |
| 1,997 | 36.7 |
| 1,998 | 36.5 |
| 1,999 | 35.1 |
| 2,000 | 32.4 |
| 2,001 | 28.2 |
| 2,002 | 28 |
| 2,003 | 29.7 |
| 2,004 | 30.8 |
| 2,005 | 33.4 |
| 2,006 | 34.2 |
| 2,007 | 34.9 |
| 2,008 | 35.5 |
| 2,009 | 50.2 |
| 2,010 | 64.4 |
| 2,011 | 70.6 |
| 2,012 | 73.9 |
| 2,013 | 77.2 |
| 2,014 | 78.8 |
| 2,015 | 81.1 |
| 2,016 | 80.6 |
| 2,017 | 82.7 |
| 2,018 | 81.6 |
| 2,019 | 79.6 |
| 2,020 | 84.5 |
| 2,021 | 95.4 |
| 2,022 | 94.3 |
| 2,023 | 93.2 |
| 2,024 | 94.1 |
| 2,025 | 93.3 |
| 2,026 | 95.1 |

- **Start year**: 1,975
- **Start pct**: 47.8
- **End year**: 2,026
- **End pct**: 95.1
- **Trough year**: 1,991
- **Trough pct**: 21.7

## The deficit is what adds to the debt

Debt is the running total; borrowing is what is added to it. In May 2026 the public sector borrowed about 23.3 billion pounds, and in the first two months of the financial year, April and May, it borrowed about 46.3 billion pounds. Borrowing is far below its pandemic peak, when the state borrowed roughly 270 billion pounds in the calendar year 2020, but it remains high by the standards of the years before the financial crisis. Across calendar year 2025 the public sector borrowed about 148 billion pounds. So long as the government spends more than it raises, the debt keeps growing.

| name | value | unit |
|---|---|---|
| May 2026, single month | 23.3 | bn |
| Financial year to date, April to May 2026 | 46.3 | bn |
| Calendar year 2025 | 148 | bn |
| Calendar year 2020, the pandemic peak | 270 | bn |

- **Note**: Net borrowing, public sector excluding public sector banks (ONS series J5II). Shown as pounds borrowed; a surplus would be negative. Monthly and financial year to date figures are for 2026; annual figures are calendar years.

## Net worth and net financial liabilities

Net debt counts money owed less liquid assets. Two broader measures bring in more of the balance sheet. Public sector net financial liabilities add in other financial assets and liabilities, such as loans made and funded pension positions; at the end of May 2026 they were about 84.7 per cent of GDP, around 2,656.8 billion pounds. Public sector net worth goes further still, setting all the government's assets, including roads, schools and other physical capital, against all its liabilities; it stood at about minus 750.4 billion pounds. A negative net worth means the state's recorded liabilities exceed its recorded assets.

| name | value | unit |
|---|---|---|
| Net financial liabilities, share of GDP | 84.7 | pct |
| Net debt excluding public sector banks, share of GDP | 95.1 | pct |

- **Networth bn**: -750.4
- **Nfl bn**: 2,656.8
- **Note**: Net financial liabilities as a share of GDP (ONS series CPOE) and in pounds (JSK7); net worth on the B.90 basis (J8RQ). End of May 2026.

## For the public finances

- Debt is close to the size of the whole economy for the first time since the early 1960s. What level is safe, and what raises the cost of servicing it?
- The state is still borrowing tens of billions of pounds every few months. How much of that is investment that may pay off later, and how much is day to day spending?
- The two debt measures differ by the Bank of England's own borrowing. As that unwinds, how much of the headline debt falls for reasons that have little to do with fiscal choices?
- Public sector net worth is deeply negative. How much weight should a single balance sheet number carry when so much of what the state owns and owes is hard to value?

## Sources

- Public sector finances, UK: May 2026, ONS (https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/bulletins/publicsectorfinances/may2026) · Open Government Licence v3.0
- Net debt (excluding public sector banks) as a % of GDP, series HF6X, ONS (https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/timeseries/hf6x/pusf) · Open Government Licence v3.0
- Net debt (excluding public sector banks), £bn, series HF6W, ONS (https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/timeseries/hf6w/pusf) · Open Government Licence v3.0
- Net borrowing (excluding public sector banks), £m, series J5II, ONS (https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/timeseries/j5ii/pusf) · Open Government Licence v3.0
- Net financial liabilities as a % of GDP, series CPOE, and net worth, series J8RQ, ONS (https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/timeseries/cpoe/pusf) · Open Government Licence v3.0

## Caveats and data notes

- All figures are for the whole United Kingdom and are provisional. The ONS revises them as fuller data arrives, so recent months in particular can change.
- Two debt measures are shown. The lower cash figure, about 2,835 billion pounds, excludes the Bank of England and is the number usually called the national debt. The higher figure, about 2,984 billion pounds, excludes only the public sector banks and includes the Bank of England's own borrowing. Both are about 95.1 per cent of GDP.
- Debt to GDP ratios use a GDP figure centred on the month being reported that can include forecasts, so the ratio can be revised as GDP estimates change even if the cash debt does not.
- The trend chart uses the position at the start of each financial year (the first quarter) from 1975, with the final point the latest monthly reading. The early 1960s comparison is drawn from the ONS bulletin's own longer run of history, which predates this monthly series.
- Net borrowing is shown as pounds borrowed; on the ONS convention a surplus is negative. Monthly and financial year to date figures are for 2026; the annual borrowing figures are calendar years.
- Net worth is deeply negative because it sets the state's liabilities against its recorded assets. Valuing public assets such as infrastructure is difficult, so the level should be read as a broad indicator, not a precise total.
- Source: ONS Public Sector Finances, May 2026 release and the associated time series.

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British Resilience Index, a non-partisan UK civic data project. Every figure is
reconciled to its primary official publisher before it is shown. Free to cite with
attribution: https://britishresilienceindex.com