National Debt by Year Compared to GDP and Major Events

U.S. Debt by Year Since 1929

Updated March 15, 2019

The U.S. national debt is more than $22 trillion. It's greater than the economic output of the entire country. It occurred despite Congressional attempts to cut government spending. These included threats to not raise the debt ceiling and the U.S. debt crisis in 2011. That's when the United States headed toward a debt default. It continued with the fiscal cliff crisis in 2012 and a government shutdown in 2013.

Sequestration slowed, but didn't halt, deficit spending beginning in 2013.

You can't look at a country's national debt in isolation. Sometimes expansionary fiscal policy, such as spending and tax cuts, was needed to spur the economy out of recession. Other times, the United States increased military spending to respond to national threats.

For those reasons, the national debt by year should be compared to the size of the economy as measured by the gross domestic product. This gives you the debt-to-GDP ratio. You can use it to compare the national debt to other countries. It also gives you an idea of how likely the country is to pay its debt back.

The government creates debt with either excessive spending or deep tax cuts. If this expansionary fiscal policy boosts growth, it can begin to lower the debt. A growing economy will produce more tax revenues to pay back the debt. The theory of supply-side economics says the growth will be enough to replace the tax revenue lost.

But that only occurs if taxes are too high, say above 50 percent of income.

There are other events that can increase the national debt. For example, the U.S. debt grew after the 9/11 attacks as the country increased military spending to launch the War on Terror. Between FY 2001-FY 2020, it cost $2.4 trillion.

This included increases to the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration.

In the table below, the U.S. debt by year is compared to GDP and national events since 1929. Please note that the debt and GDP are given as of the end of the third quarter, September 30, in each year to coincide with the fiscal year. That's the best way to accurately determine how spending in each fiscal year contributes to the debt and to compare it to economic growth. Please note: GDP in the years up to 1947 are not available for the third quarter, so year-end figures are used.

National Debt by Year Since 1929: Compared to Nominal GDP and Major Events

End of Fiscal Year	Debt (as of 9/30, in billions)	Debt/ GDP Ratio	Major Events by Presidential Term
1929	$17	16%	Market crash. Hoover signed Smoot-Hawley, reducingd trade.
1930	$16	18%	Dust Bowl drought raged.
1931	$17	22%	Food riots.
1932	$19	33%	Hoover raised taxes.
1933	$23	39%
1934	$27	40%	FDR's New Deal increased both GDP and debt.
1935	$29	39%
1936	$34	40%
1937	$36	39%	Third New Deal.
1938	$37	43%	Dust bowl ended.
1939	$40	43%	Depression ended.
1940	$43	50%	FDR increased spending and raised taxes.
1941	$49	45%	U.S. entered WWII.
1942	$72	48%
1943	$137	70%
1944	$204	91%
1945	$260	114%
1946	$271	119%	Truman's 1st term budgets. Recession as economy adjusted to peacetime.
1947	$257	104%
1948	$252	92%
1949	$253	93%
1950	$257	89%	Korean War boosted growth and debt.
1951	$255	74%
1952	$259	72%
1953	$266	68%	Recession when war ended.
1954	$271	70%	Eisenhower's budgets. Recession.
1955	$274	65%
1956	$273	61%
1957	$271	57%
1958	$276	58%	Eisenhower's 2nd term. Recession.
1959	$285	54%
1960	$286	53%
1961	$289	52%
1962	$298	49%	JFK budgets. Cuban missile crisis.
1963	$306	48%
1964	$312	46%	LBJ's budgets. War on poverty.
1965	$317	43%	U.S. entered Vietnam War.
1966	$320	40%
1967	$326	38%
1968	$348	37%
1969	$354	35%
1970	$371	35%	Recession.
1971	$398	34%	Wage-price controls.
1972	$427	34%	Stagflation
1973	$458	32%	Nixon ended gold standard. OPEC oil embargo.
1974	$475	31%	Watergate.
1975	$533	32%	Vietnam War ended.
1976	$620	33%
1977	$699	33%
1978	$772	32%	Carter budgets. Recession.
1979	$827	31%
1980	$908	32%	Volcker raised rate to 20%.
1981	$998	31%	Reagan tax cut.
1982	$1,142	34%	Reagan increased spending.
1983	$1,377	37%
1984	$1,572	38%
1985	$1,823	42%
1986	$2,125	46%	Reagan lowered taxed. S&L Crisis.
1987	$2,340	48%	Market crash
1988	$2,602	49%
1989	$2,857	50%	Bush 41 budgets. S&L Crisis
1990	$3,233	54%	Desert Storm.
1991	$3,665	59%	Recession.
1992	$4,065	62%
1993	$4,411	64%	Clinton signed Budget Act
1994	$4,693	64%	Clinton budgets.
1995	$4,974	65%
1996	$5,225	64%	Welfare reform
1997	$5,413	62%
1998	$5,526	61%	LTCM crisis. Recession.
1999	$5,656	58%	Glass-Steagall repealed
2000	$5,674	55%
2001	$5,807	55%	9/11 attacks / EGTRRA
2002	$6,228	57%	War on Terror
2003	$6,783	59%	JGTRRA / Iraq War
2004	$7,379	60%
2005	$7,933	60%	Bankruptcy Ac t
2006	$8,507	61%	Katrina.
2007	$9,008	62%
2008	$10,025	68%	QE
2009	$11,910 ($11,000 on Mar 16 and $12,000 on Nov 16)	83%	Bank bailout cost $250 b. ARRA added $241.9 b.
2010	$13,562 ($13,000 on Jun 1 and $14,000 on Dec 31)	90%	ARRA added $400 b. Payroll tax holiday ended.
2011	$14,790 ($15,000 on Nov 15)	95%	Great Recession and tax cuts reduced revenue.
2012	$16,066 ($16,000 on Aug 31)	99%	Fiscal cliff
2013	$16,738 ($17,000 on Oct 17)	99%	Sequester
2014	$17,824 ($18,000 on Dec 15)	101%	War cost $309 billion. QE ended.
2015	$18,151	99%
2016	$19,573 ($19,000 on Jan 29)	104%
2017	$20,245 ($20,000 on Sep 8)	103%	Congress raised debt ceiling.
2018	$21,462 ($21,000 on Mar 15)	105%	Trump tax cuts and spending above sequestration. Congress suspended the debt ceiling until March 1, 2019.
2019	$22,776 (est.) ($22,000 on February 11)	106%
2020	$24,057 (est.)	106%	Military spending at record $989 billion.
2021	$25,333 (est.)	106%

Resources for Table

Debt from 1929 to 2018: U.S. Treasury Historical Tables and U.S. Treasury, Debt to the Penny.
Debt from 2019 to 2021: FY 2020 budget,Tables S-9, Economic Assumptions and S-10. Federal Government Financing and Debt.
GDP and Personal Income, Table 1.1.5., U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Historical Fed Funds Rate
History of Dow Closing Average
Cost of Wars