Highlights of the Consumer Federation of America's initial analysis of the recently-released Education Department data, as of Dec. 31, 2016, include:

• Average amount owed is $30,650 per federal student loan borrower. Average amount owed per borrower continues to tick up, rising 17% since the end of 2013, when borrowers owed an average of $26,300.

• $137 billion in default. For federal loans originated by financial institutions and the U.S. Department of Education, a total of $137.4 billion in balances were in default, a 14% increase from 2015. This cumulative level of defaulted balances includes loans that defaulted in previous years.

• In 2016, 1.1 million Federal Direct Loan borrowers defaulted. Federal law typically defines a federal student loan default as being 270 days past due. Borrowers defaulting for the first time slightly decreased compared to 2015.

• The largest holder of defaulted loans is Navient, with $87.7 billion in outstanding loans as of the end of 2016. "With more than 16 million Americans still on the hook for bank-based federal student loans, the cost of being kept in the dark is real," Chopra said.

• Total federal student loan portfolio increased $79.4 billion. Total outstanding federal student loans, including loans owned or guaranteed by the government, increased $79.4 billion in 2016, roughly the same as the $80.2 billion increase in 2015.