National DebtNational Debt API

OnlineCredit Usage:1 per callRefreshed 16 hours ago
avg: 500ms|p50: 467ms|p75: 522ms|p90: 588ms|p99: 720ms

National Debt provides real-time access to the US national debt (Debt to the Penny). It returns the total public debt, debt held by the public, intragovernmental holdings, and per-capita debt calculations.

The National Debt API provides reliable and fast access to national debt data through a simple REST interface. Built for developers who need consistent, high-quality results with minimal setup time.

To use National Debt, you need an API key. You can get one by creating a free account and visiting your dashboard.

GET Endpoint

URL
https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt

Code Examples

Here are examples of how to call the National Debt API in different programming languages:

cURL Request
curl -X GET \
  "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here"
JavaScript (Fetch API)
const response = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt', {
  method: 'GET',
  headers: {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  }
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);
Python (Requests)
import requests

headers = {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

response = requests.get('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt', headers=headers)

data = response.json()
print(data)
Node.js (Native HTTPS)
const https = require('https');
const url = require('url');

const options = {
  method: 'GET',
  headers: {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  }
};

const req = https.request('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt', options, (res) => {
  let data = '';
  res.on('data', (chunk) => data += chunk);
  res.on('end', () => console.log(JSON.parse(data)));
});

req.end();
PHP (cURL)
<?php

$ch = curl_init();

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST, 'GET');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, [
    'X-API-Key: your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type: application/json'
]);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

$data = json_decode($response, true);
print_r($data);

?>
Go (net/http)
package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "io"
    "net/http"

)

func main() {
    req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt", nil)

    req.Header.Set("X-API-Key", "your_api_key_here")
    req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    fmt.Println(string(body))
}
Ruby (Net::HTTP)
require 'net/http'
require 'json'

uri = URI('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt')
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
request['X-API-Key'] = 'your_api_key_here'
request['Content-Type'] = 'application/json'

response = http.request(request)
puts JSON.pretty_generate(JSON.parse(response.body))
C# (HttpClient)
using System;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        using var client = new HttpClient();
        client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("X-API-Key", "your_api_key_here");

        var response = await client.GetAsync("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt");
        response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();

        var responseBody = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
        Console.WriteLine(responseBody);
    }
}

Authentication

The National Debt API requires authentication via API key. Include your API key in the request header:

Required Header
X-API-Key: your_api_key_here

Learn more about authentication →

Interactive API Playground

Test the National Debt API directly in your browser with live requests and responses.

Parameters

The following parameters are available for the National Debt API:

Get National Debt

ParameterTypeRequiredDescriptionDefaultExample
datestringoptional
Optional date in YYYY-MM-DD format for historical lookup. Omit for current data.
Format: date (e.g., 2024-01-15)
-2024-01-15

Response

The National Debt API returns responses in JSON, XML, YAML, and CSV formats:

Example Responses

JSON Response
200 OK
{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "date": "2024-02-01",
    "totalDebt": 34186489456789.12,
    "totalDebtFormatted": "$34.19 trillion",
    "publicDebt": 26912345678901.23,
    "publicDebtFormatted": "$26.91 trillion",
    "intragovernmentalDebt": 7274143777887.89,
    "intragovernmentalDebtFormatted": "$7.27 trillion",
    "perCapita": 102049,
    "perCapitaFormatted": "$102,049",
    "population": 335000000
  }
}
XML Response
200 OK
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<response>
  <status>ok</status>
  <error xsi:nil="true" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"/>
  <data>
    <date>2024-02-01</date>
    <totalDebt>34186489456789.12</totalDebt>
    <totalDebtFormatted>$34.19 trillion</totalDebtFormatted>
    <publicDebt>26912345678901.23</publicDebt>
    <publicDebtFormatted>$26.91 trillion</publicDebtFormatted>
    <intragovernmentalDebt>7274143777887.89</intragovernmentalDebt>
    <intragovernmentalDebtFormatted>$7.27 trillion</intragovernmentalDebtFormatted>
    <perCapita>102049</perCapita>
    <perCapitaFormatted>$102,049</perCapitaFormatted>
    <population>335000000</population>
  </data>
</response>
YAML Response
200 OK
status: ok
error: null
data:
  date: '2024-02-01'
  totalDebt: 34186489456789.12
  totalDebtFormatted: $34.19 trillion
  publicDebt: 26912345678901.23
  publicDebtFormatted: $26.91 trillion
  intragovernmentalDebt: 7274143777887.89
  intragovernmentalDebtFormatted: $7.27 trillion
  perCapita: 102049
  perCapitaFormatted: $102,049
  population: 335000000
CSV Response
200 OK
keyvalue
date2024-02-01
totalDebt34186489456789.12
totalDebtFormatted$34.19 trillion
publicDebt26912345678901.23
publicDebtFormatted$26.91 trillion
intragovernmentalDebt7274143777887.89
intragovernmentalDebtFormatted$7.27 trillion
perCapita102049
perCapitaFormatted$102,049
population335000000

Response Structure

All API responses follow a consistent structure with the following fields:

FieldTypeDescriptionExample
statusstringIndicates whether the request was successful ("ok") or failed ("error")ok
errorstring | nullContains error message if status is "error", otherwise nullnull
dataobject | nullContains the API response data if successful, otherwise null{...}

Learn more about response formats →

Response Data Fields

When the request is successful, the data object contains the following fields:

FieldTypeSample Value
datestring"2024-02-01"
totalDebtnumber34186489456789.12
totalDebtFormattedstring"$34.19 trillion"
publicDebtnumber26912345678901.23
publicDebtFormattedstring"$26.91 trillion"
intragovernmentalDebtnumber7274143777887.89
intragovernmentalDebtFormattedstring"$7.27 trillion"
perCapitanumber102049
perCapitaFormattedstring"$102,049"
populationnumber335000000

Headers

Required and optional headers for National Debt API requests:

Header NameRequiredExample ValueDescription
X-API-Keyrequiredyour_api_key_hereYour APIVerve API key. Found in your dashboard under API Keys.
Acceptoptionalapplication/jsonSpecify response format: application/json (default), application/xml, or application/yaml
User-AgentoptionalMyApp/1.0Identifies your application for analytics and debugging purposes
X-Request-IDoptionalreq_123456789Custom request identifier for tracking and debugging requests
Cache-Controloptionalno-cacheControl caching behavior for the request and response

Learn more about request headers →

GraphQL AccessALPHA

Access National Debt through GraphQL to combine it with other API calls in a single request. Query only the national debt data you need with precise field selection, and orchestrate complex data fetching workflows.

Test National Debt in the GraphQL Explorer to confirm availability and experiment with queries.

Credit Cost: Each API called in your GraphQL query consumes its standard credit cost.

GraphQL Endpoint
POST https://api.apiverve.com/v1/graphql
GraphQL Query Example
query {
  nationaldebt(
    input: {
      date: "2024-01-15"
    }
  ) {
    date
    totalDebt
    totalDebtFormatted
    publicDebt
    publicDebtFormatted
    intragovernmentalDebt
    intragovernmentalDebtFormatted
    perCapita
    perCapitaFormatted
    population
  }
}

Note: Authentication is handled via the x-api-key header in your GraphQL request, not as a query parameter.

CORS Support

The National Debt API supports Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) with wildcard configuration, allowing you to call National Debt directly from browser-based applications without proxy servers.

CORS HeaderValueDescription
Access-Control-Allow-Origin*Accepts requests from any origin
Access-Control-Allow-Methods*Accepts any HTTP method
Access-Control-Allow-Headers*Accepts any request headers

Browser Usage: You can call National Debt directly from JavaScript running in the browser without encountering CORS errors. No proxy server or additional configuration needed.

Learn more about CORS support →

Rate Limiting

National Debt API requests are subject to rate limiting based on your subscription plan. These limits ensure fair usage and maintain service quality for all National Debt users.

PlanRate LimitDescription
Free5 requests/minHard rate limit enforced - exceeding will return 429 errors
StarterNo LimitProduction ready - standard traffic priority
ProNo LimitProduction ready - preferred traffic priority
MegaNo LimitProduction ready - highest traffic priority

Learn more about rate limiting →

Rate Limit Headers

When rate limits apply, each National Debt response includes headers to help you track your usage:

HeaderDescription
X-RateLimit-LimitMaximum number of requests allowed per time window
X-RateLimit-RemainingNumber of requests remaining in the current window
X-RateLimit-ResetUnix timestamp when the rate limit window resets

Handling Rate Limits

Free Plan: When you exceed your rate limit, National Debt returns a 429 Too Many Requests status code. Your application should implement appropriate backoff logic to handle this gracefully.

Paid Plans: No rate limiting or throttling applied. All paid plans (Starter, Pro, Mega) are production-ready.

Best Practices for National Debt:

  • Monitor the rate limit headers to track your National Debt usage (Free plan only)
  • Cache national debt responses where appropriate to reduce API calls
  • Upgrade to Pro or Mega for guaranteed no-throttle National Debt performance

Note: National Debt rate limits are separate from credit consumption. You may have credits remaining but still hit rate limits when using National Debt on Free tier.

Error Codes

The National Debt API uses standard HTTP status codes to indicate success or failure:

CodeMessageDescriptionSolution
200OKRequest successful, data returnedNo action needed - request was successful
400Bad RequestInvalid request parameters or malformed requestCheck required parameters and ensure values match expected formats
401UnauthorizedMissing or invalid API keyInclude x-api-key header with valid API key from dashboard
403ForbiddenAPI key lacks permission or insufficient creditsCheck credit balance in dashboard or upgrade plan
429Too Many RequestsRate limit exceeded (Free: 5 req/min)Implement request throttling or upgrade to paid plan
500Internal Server ErrorServer error occurredRetry request after a few seconds, contact support if persists
503Service UnavailableAPI temporarily unavailableWait and retry, check status page for maintenance updates

Learn more about error handling →

Need help? Contact support with your X-Request-ID for assistance.

Integrate National Debt with SDKs

Get started quickly with official National Debt SDKs for your preferred language. Each library handles authentication, request formatting, and error handling automatically.

Available for Node.js, Python, C#/.NET, and Android/Java. All SDKs are open source and regularly updated.

Integrate National Debt with No-Code API Tools

Connect the National Debt API to your favorite automation platform without writing code. Build workflows that leverage national debt data across thousands of apps.

All platforms use your same API key to access National Debt. Visit our integrations hub for step-by-step setup guides.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get an API key for National Debt?
Sign up for a free account at dashboard.apiverve.com. Your API key will be automatically generated and available in your dashboard. The same key works for National Debt and all other APIVerve APIs. The free plan includes 1,000 credits plus a 500 credit bonus.
How many credits does National Debt cost?

Each successful National Debt API call consumes credits based on plan tier. Check the pricing section above for the exact credit cost. Failed requests and errors don't consume credits, so you only pay for successful national debt lookups.

Can I use National Debt in production?

The free plan is for testing and development only. For production use of National Debt, upgrade to a paid plan (Starter, Pro, or Mega) which includes commercial use rights, no attribution requirements, and guaranteed uptime SLAs. All paid plans are production-ready.

Can I use National Debt from a browser?
Yes! The National Debt API supports CORS with wildcard configuration, so you can call it directly from browser-based JavaScript without needing a proxy server. See the CORS section above for details.
What happens if I exceed my National Debt credit limit?

When you reach your monthly credit limit, National Debt API requests will return an error until you upgrade your plan or wait for the next billing cycle. You'll receive notifications at 80% and 95% usage to give you time to upgrade if needed.

What's Next?

Continue your journey with these recommended resources

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