Dr Mahathir: Malaysia's debt level still "healthy" - Nation | The Star Online

Dr Mahathir: Malaysia's debt level still "healthy" - Nation | The Star Online

Government debt (also known as public debt, national debt)^[1][2] is the debt owed by a central government. (In the U.S. and other federal states, "government debt" may also refer to the debt of a state or provincial government, municipal or local government.) By contrast, the annual "government deficit" refers to the difference between government receipts and spending in a single year, that is, the increase of debt over a particular year.

source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_debt