UK Public Finances Explorer

UK Public Finances Explorer

Understand UK government debt and public finances, using official data and plain English.

Latest figures for April 2026. Last updated 22 May 2026.

Public sector net debt

£2.92 trillion

The headline measure of how much the UK government owes, after subtracting liquid assets. This is the main measure used in the monthly public finance statistics.

What this means

Think of it as everything the government has borrowed and not yet repaid, less the cash it holds. It is a stock — a total built up over many years — not a single year's spending. As a share of GDP this is around levels last seen in the early 1960s.

Source: ONS, Public sector finances, UK: April 2026. Figure dated 31 March 2026. Retrieved 10 June 2026. provisional

Debt as share of GDP

94.2% of GDP

Net debt measured against the size of the economy for that period. This matters more than the cash total, because a bigger economy can support more debt.

What this means

If debt is around 94% of GDP, the government owes a little less than the economy produces in a year. Economists watch the trend in this ratio rather than the cash figure alone.

Source: ONS, Public sector finances, UK: April 2026. Figure dated 30 April 2026. Retrieved 10 June 2026. provisional

Debt per person

£42,709

Total net debt divided by the UK population. A way to picture the scale, not a bill anyone personally owes.

What this means

This does not mean each person owes this amount. Government debt is repaid through taxes and borrowing over time, not split between residents.

Source: Calculated from ONS net debt and ONS population estimate. Figure dated 31 March 2026. Retrieved 10 June 2026. calculated

Debt interest

£111 bn / year

What the government pays to service its debt over a year. Affected both by how much is owed and by the interest rate on it.

What this means

Interest is a real cash cost competing with other spending — around 8% of total public spending. Some of it rises and falls with inflation, because a share of UK debt is index-linked. Central government interest payable was £10.3 billion in April 2026 alone.

Source: OBR, debt interest (central government, net of APF). Figure dated 31 March 2026. Retrieved 10 June 2026. official

Latest borrowing

£24.3 bn

How much the government borrowed in the latest month — the gap between what it spent and what it raised.

What this means

Borrowing is a flow (one period's gap), whereas debt is the stock that builds up over many periods. Monthly borrowing is seasonal — April is typically high — so it cannot simply be multiplied by twelve. Annual borrowing is around £130 billion.

Source: ONS, Public sector finances, UK: April 2026. Figure dated 30 April 2026. Retrieved 10 June 2026. provisional

Explore further