diff --git a/src/components/NationalDebtPanel.ts b/src/components/NationalDebtPanel.ts
index c0f98caa2..c254a10ea 100644
--- a/src/components/NationalDebtPanel.ts
+++ b/src/components/NationalDebtPanel.ts
@@ -101,6 +101,8 @@ function sortEntries(entries: NationalDebtEntry[], mode: SortMode): NationalDebt
   return sorted;
 }
 
+const PAGE_SIZE = 20;
+
 export class NationalDebtPanel extends Panel {
   private entries: NationalDebtEntry[] = [];
   private filteredEntries: NationalDebtEntry[] = [];
@@ -108,6 +110,7 @@ export class NationalDebtPanel extends Panel {
   private searchQuery = '';
   private loading = false;
   private lastFetch = 0;
+  private visibleCount = PAGE_SIZE;
   private tickerInterval: ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null = null;
   private readonly REFRESH_INTERVAL = 6 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
 
@@ -120,12 +123,20 @@ export class NationalDebtPanel extends Panel {
     });
 
     this.content.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
-      const tab = (e.target as HTMLElement).closest('[data-sort]') as HTMLElement | null;
+      const target = e.target as HTMLElement;
+      const tab = target.closest('[data-sort]') as HTMLElement | null;
       if (tab?.dataset.sort) {
         this.sortMode = tab.dataset.sort as SortMode;
+        this.visibleCount = PAGE_SIZE;
         this.applyFilters();
         this.render();
         this.restartTicker();
+        return;
+      }
+      if (target.closest('.debt-load-more')) {
+        this.visibleCount += PAGE_SIZE;
+        this.render();
+        this.restartTicker();
       }
     });
 
@@ -133,6 +144,7 @@ export class NationalDebtPanel extends Panel {
       const target = e.target as HTMLInputElement;
       if (target.classList.contains('debt-search')) {
         this.searchQuery = target.value;
+        this.visibleCount = PAGE_SIZE;
         this.applyFilters();
         this.render();
         this.restartTicker();
@@ -227,8 +239,13 @@ export class NationalDebtPanel extends Panel {
           <input class="debt-search" type="text" placeholder="Search country..." value="${escapeHtml(this.searchQuery)}">
         </div>
         <div class="debt-list">
-          ${this.filteredEntries.slice(0, 100).map((entry, idx) => this.renderRow(entry, idx + 1)).join('')}
+          ${this.filteredEntries.slice(0, this.visibleCount).map((entry, idx) => this.renderRow(entry, idx + 1)).join('')}
         </div>
+        ${this.visibleCount < this.filteredEntries.length ? `
+        <button class="debt-load-more">
+          Load ${Math.min(PAGE_SIZE, this.filteredEntries.length - this.visibleCount)} more
+          <span class="debt-load-more-count">(${this.filteredEntries.length - this.visibleCount} remaining)</span>
+        </button>` : ''}
         <div class="debt-footer">
           <span class="debt-source">Source: IMF WEO 2024 + US Treasury FiscalData</span>
           <span class="debt-updated">Updated: ${new Date(this.lastFetch).toLocaleDateString()}</span>
@@ -279,7 +296,7 @@ export class NationalDebtPanel extends Panel {
       }
       const container = this.content.querySelector('.debt-list');
       if (!container) return;
-      for (const entry of this.filteredEntries.slice(0, 100)) {
+      for (const entry of this.filteredEntries.slice(0, this.visibleCount)) {
         const el = container.querySelector<HTMLElement>(`.debt-ticker[data-iso3="${entry.iso3}"]`);
         if (el) {
           el.textContent = formatDebt(getCurrentDebt(entry));
diff --git a/src/services/economic/index.ts b/src/services/economic/index.ts
index fa2e844a8..dc271d968 100644
--- a/src/services/economic/index.ts
+++ b/src/services/economic/index.ts
@@ -589,13 +589,25 @@ export type { NationalDebtEntry };
 // National Debt Clock
 // ========================================================================
 
-const nationalDebtBreaker = createCircuitBreaker<GetNationalDebtResponse>({ name: 'National Debt', cacheTtlMs: 6 * 60 * 60 * 1000, persistCache: true });
+// No persistCache: IndexedDB hydration on first call can deadlock in some browsers,
+// causing the panel to hang indefinitely on "Loading debt data from IMF..."
+const nationalDebtBreaker = createCircuitBreaker<GetNationalDebtResponse>({ name: 'National Debt', cacheTtlMs: 6 * 60 * 60 * 1000 });
 const emptyNationalDebtFallback: GetNationalDebtResponse = { entries: [], seededAt: '', unavailable: true };
 
 export async function getNationalDebtData(): Promise<GetNationalDebtResponse> {
   const hydrated = getHydratedData('nationalDebt') as GetNationalDebtResponse | undefined;
   if (hydrated?.entries?.length) return hydrated;
 
+  // Race all fetch paths against a hard 20s deadline so the panel never hangs.
+  return Promise.race([
+    _fetchNationalDebt(),
+    new Promise<GetNationalDebtResponse>(resolve =>
+      setTimeout(() => resolve(emptyNationalDebtFallback), 20_000),
+    ),
+  ]);
+}
+
+async function _fetchNationalDebt(): Promise<GetNationalDebtResponse> {
   try {
     const resp = await fetch(toApiUrl('/api/bootstrap?keys=nationalDebt'), {
       signal: AbortSignal.timeout(5_000),
@@ -608,7 +620,7 @@ export async function getNationalDebtData(): Promise<GetNationalDebtResponse> {
 
   try {
     return await nationalDebtBreaker.execute(async () => {
-      return client.getNationalDebt({}, { signal: AbortSignal.timeout(15_000) });
+      return client.getNationalDebt({}, { signal: AbortSignal.timeout(12_000) });
     }, emptyNationalDebtFallback);
   } catch {
     return emptyNationalDebtFallback;
diff --git a/src/styles/main.css b/src/styles/main.css
index e646a1336..0d39f9e74 100644
--- a/src/styles/main.css
+++ b/src/styles/main.css
@@ -20264,6 +20264,30 @@ body.has-breaking-alert .panels-grid {
   min-width: 70px;
 }
 
+.debt-load-more {
+  width: 100%;
+  padding: 8px;
+  margin: 4px 0;
+  background: none;
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  border-radius: 4px;
+  color: var(--text-dim);
+  font-size: 11px;
+  cursor: pointer;
+  text-align: center;
+  flex-shrink: 0;
+  transition: border-color 0.15s, color 0.15s;
+}
+
+.debt-load-more:hover {
+  border-color: var(--accent);
+  color: var(--accent);
+}
+
+.debt-load-more-count {
+  opacity: 0.6;
+}
+
 .debt-footer {
   display: flex;
   justify-content: space-between;