Office for National Statistics · Public sector net debt and net lending or borrowing · United Kingdom
What are the government debt and deficit of the United Kingdom?
The net debt of the public sector of the United Kingdom was 93.2% of GDP in the financial year ended .
United Kingdom, debt and deficit, each year
- Public sector net debt, % of GDP93.2%26.7% to 95.2%
- Public sector deficit or surplus, % of GDP−4.4%−14.7% to 1.5%
Each row is one measure of the United Kingdom, a year or a month to a point, with its newest value and its range printed beside it and a dashed line at zero. A gap is a period with no value. Pointing at the chart shows the period and the value.
Observed .
Right now
The net debt of the public sector of the United Kingdom was 93.2% of GDP in the financial year ended 31 March 2026, up 0.3 percentage points over a year (ours).
The net lending or borrowing of the public sector of the United Kingdom was −4.4% of GDP in the financial year ended 31 March 2026, up 0.7 percentage points over a year (ours).
The figures for the United Kingdom are on its own national definitions, so they are not ranked against the member states of the European Union.
Over five yearsOurs
Over five years the net debt of the public sector is down 2.0 percentage points and the net lending or borrowing of the public sector is up 10.3 percentage points (ours).
Against its historyOurs
The net debt of the public sector in the financial year ended 31 March 2026 was the highest since the financial year ended 31 March 2024.
The net lending or borrowing of the public sector in the financial year ended 31 March 2026 was the highest since the financial year ended 31 March 2020.
What the figures areIn the source's words
Public sector net debt: Public sector net debt excluding public sector banks at the end of March, as a percentage of GDP (Office for National Statistics, HF6X). It is net of the public sector's liquid assets, so it is not the gross debt that the European Union counts for its member states (its official name is the Maastricht definition).
Public sector deficit or surplus: Public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks in the financial year ended 31 March, as a percentage of GDP (Office for National Statistics, J5IJ). The Office for National Statistics counts net borrowing as a positive number. We reverse its sign, so that a deficit is negative here as for the other countries.
Central bank
The central bank of the United Kingdom has pages on this site.
Understanding the government finances of the United Kingdom
Where it stands today
The net debt of the public sector of the United Kingdom was 93.2% of GDP in the financial year ended 31 March 2026.
What do the figures for the United Kingdom measure?
For the United Kingdom, this page shows the net debt of the public sector and its deficit or surplus, in the figures official statistics publish. Public sector net debt is what the public sector owes less its liquid assets, as a share of the output of the economy in a year (GDP). Net borrowing is the amount by which the public sector spends more than it takes in during a year, as a share of GDP. This page shows it as net lending, so a deficit is negative and a surplus positive.
Read more
The figures are the Office for National Statistics' public sector finances. They are the United Kingdom's own measures, which differ from the definitions Eurostat uses for the member states of the European Union, so this page is not ranked against them.
The United Kingdom's financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March, and a year on this page is the financial year that ended on 31 March of the year named.
What 500metrics adds: the change over a year and over five years of every figure, the highest and lowest value since our record begins, the last time a figure was higher and lower, the yearly history of the public sector net debt and public sector deficit or surplus as small charts.
The numbers behind the chart
What are the latest figures for the United Kingdom?2 measures, each in its own newest period
| Measure | Period | Value | Change over a year | Change over five years | Rank | Last higher | Last lower |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public sector net debt | 93.2% of GDP | +0.3 pts | −2.0 pts | n/a | |||
| Public sector deficit or surplus (ours) | −4.4% of GDP | +0.7 pts | +10.3 pts | n/a |
The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.
What were the debt and the deficit of the United Kingdom in each year?40 years, newest first
| Year | Public sector net debt | Public sector deficit or surplus |
|---|---|---|
| 93.2% of GDP | −4.4% of GDP | |
| 92.9% of GDP | −5.1% of GDP | |
| 93.7% of GDP | −4.8% of GDP | |
| 92.7% of GDP | −4.7% of GDP | |
| 93.9% of GDP | −4.8% of GDP | |
| 95.2% of GDP | −14.7% of GDP | |
| 84.1% of GDP | −2.6% of GDP | |
| 79.4% of GDP | −2.0% of GDP | |
| 81.5% of GDP | −2.9% of GDP | |
| 82.5% of GDP | −2.8% of GDP |
Show 30 more rows
| Year | Public sector net debt | Public sector deficit or surplus |
|---|---|---|
| 80.6% of GDP | −4.1% of GDP | |
| 81.1% of GDP | −5.2% of GDP | |
| 78.6% of GDP | −5.6% of GDP | |
| 77.0% of GDP | −7.1% of GDP | |
| 73.8% of GDP | −7.3% of GDP | |
| 70.6% of GDP | −8.7% of GDP | |
| 64.4% of GDP | −10.2% of GDP | |
| 50.3% of GDP | −7.3% of GDP | |
| 35.6% of GDP | −2.9% of GDP | |
| 35.1% of GDP | −2.8% of GDP | |
| 34.3% of GDP | −3.2% of GDP | |
| 33.5% of GDP | −3.9% of GDP | |
| 31.0% of GDP | −3.4% of GDP | |
| 29.8% of GDP | −2.9% of GDP | |
| 28.1% of GDP | −0.5% of GDP | |
| 28.3% of GDP | 1.5% of GDP | |
| 32.5% of GDP | 1.1% of GDP | |
| 35.2% of GDP | 0.0% of GDP | |
| 36.6% of GDP | −1.1% of GDP | |
| 36.7% of GDP | −3.0% of GDP | |
| 36.1% of GDP | −4.1% of GDP | |
| 34.6% of GDP | −5.3% of GDP | |
| 31.2% of GDP | −6.6% of GDP | |
| 26.7% of GDP | −6.3% of GDP | |
| n/a | −3.3% of GDP | |
| n/a | −1.1% of GDP | |
| n/a | 0.0% of GDP | |
| n/a | 1.0% of GDP | |
| n/a | −1.0% of GDP | |
| n/a | −1.9% of GDP |
What do these figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite
What this number cannot tell you
- Each yearly figure is a ratio to the output of the economy (GDP) of the same year, so it moves when the debt or the deficit moves and when GDP does.
- A change is the difference between two values, in percentage points, and is ours; it is shown for a year and for five years back, and is blank where the series does not reach that far.
- The debt is public sector net debt excluding public sector banks, which is net of liquid assets, and the deficit is public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks, which covers the whole public sector. Neither is the gross debt or the net lending of the government as a whole that Eurostat publishes for the member states.
- The Office for National Statistics revises its figures with each monthly release and when GDP is revised, and a ratio to GDP moves when either part does. The newest year is often provisional, and the Office revises it.
- The Office for National Statistics publishes no 10-year bond yield for the United Kingdom, so this page has none. The Bank of England's Bank Rate is on its own page.
- The change over a year and over five years and the highest and lowest values are ours, worked out from the values the Office for National Statistics publishes.
Observed . Checked .
How to cite this
Office for National Statistics, public sector finances. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, United Kingdom, through 31 March 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "What are the government debt and deficit of the United Kingdom?", https://500metrics.com/government-debt/united-kingdom.
Page updated
Sources
Office for National Statistics, public sector finances. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. (source) Terms: Open Government Licence v3.0.