What is the national debt?

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What is the national debt?

The national debt refers to the total amount of money that a government owes to its creditors, which includes individuals, businesses, and other countries. It is the accumulation of past budget deficits, where the government spends more than it collects in revenue, resulting in borrowing to cover the shortfall. The national debt is typically represented as a percentage of a country's GDP and is an important indicator of a government's fiscal health.