0 the total amount of money that is owed by a country's government
1 the total amount that is owed by a country's government because it has spent more than it has taken in taxes, etc.:
Over the period from 1977 to 1997, we accumulated more than $3 trillion of national debt.
Works here were largely concerned with public finance - customs, excise, taxation, the national debt, and public credit.
The country had made a promising head-start in 1991, without the burden of a national debt and amidst widespread enthusiasm.
These proposals, he felt, would only bring a mounting national debt and eventual bankruptcy.
In practice, of course, the long boom was financed by a mix of household, corporate and national debt.
Long run implications of alternative fiscal policies and the burden of the national debt.
The defence of the rights of property (especially landed), and a preference for remunerative structural investments and reducing taxes and the national debt were also frequent concerns.
The national debt is also dramatically affected by the non-collection rate.
