Government debt (also known as
public debt, national debt) is the debt owed by a
central government. Government debt is one
method of financing government operations, but
it is not the only method. Governments can also
create money to monetize their debts, thereby
removing the need to pay interest. But this
practice simply reduces government interest
costs rather than truly canceling government
debt. Governments usually borrow by issuing
securities, government bonds and bills. Less
creditworthy countries sometimes borrow
directly from a supranational organization (e.g.
the World Bank) or international financial
institutions.