"At the end of last year, some 42.4 million Americans owed $1.3 trillion in federal direct student loans. The total number of defaulted federal direct loans rose by 1.1 million, according to U.S. Department of Education data reported earlier this month by the Consumer Federation of America.
More than $137 billion (about 9.8%) of a total of $1.4 trillion in loan balances from both the federal direct loans and federal loans made by financial institutions are currently in default, which the federal government defines as being 270 days past due." …