what is the total amount of student loan debt
Student debt There are two types of loans student borrow in the US: Federal loans or Private loans. Federal loans have a fixed interest rate, usually lower than private loans' interest, set annually by the congress. The direct subsidized loan with the maximum amount of $5,500 has an interest rate of 4.45%, while the direct plus loan with the maximum amount of $20,500 has an interest rate of 7%.[6] As for private loans, there are more options like fixed interest rate, variable interest rate, and income based monthly plans whose interest rates vary depending on the lender, credit history and cosigners. The average interest rate for a private loan in 2017 was 9.66%.[7] The Economist reported in June 2014 that U.S. student loan debt exceeded $1.2 trillion with over 7 million debtors in default. In 2014, there was approximately $1.3 trillion of outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. that affected 44 million borrowers who had an average outstanding loan balance of $37,172.[7]
National debt of the United States As of April 30, 2018, debt held by the public was $15.3 trillion and intragovernmental holdings were $5.7 trillion, for a total or "National Debt" of $21 trillion.[5] Debt held by the public was approximately 77% of GDP in 2017, ranked 43rd highest out of 207 countries.[6] The Congressional Budget Office forecast in April 2018 that the ratio will rise to nearly 100% by 2028, perhaps higher if current policies are extended beyond their scheduled expiration date.[7] As of December 2017, $6.3 trillion or approximately 45% of the debt held by the public was owned by foreign investors, the largest being China (about $1.18 trillion) then Japan (about $1.06 trillion).[8]