National Debt by Year

The U.S. national debt breached a record $16 trillion in 2012, greater than the economic output of the entire country. A debt crisis was created by a political battle as Democrats and Republicans were stalemated over ways to curb the debt. In 2011, the U.S. was heading toward a debt default when legislators stalled on raising the debt ceiling.

However, you can't look at a country's national debt in isolation. Sometimes expansionary fiscal policy, such as increased spending or tax cuts, is needed to spur the economy out of recession. Other times, the U.S. must increase 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 (GDP). This gives you the debt to GDP ratio, which you can use to compare the national debt to other countries. It also give you an idea of how likely the country is to pay the debt back. By spurring economic growth, the government spending or tax cuts that created the debt can reduce it in later years. That's because a growing economy will produce more tax revenues to pay back the debt. For more, see Supply-side Economics.

There are other national events that can increase the debt. For example, the debt grew after the 9/11 attacks as the country increased military spending to launch the War on Terror. Between FY 2001-FY 2009, it cost $850 billion. This was in addition to the everyday spending needed to maintain the Department of Defense, Homeland Security or the Veterans Administration. For details, see War on Terror Facts.

The debt is compared to GDP and national events since 1929 in the table below. Here are some highlights. (Source: U.S. Treasury, Debt to the Penny, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP and Personal Income)

Resources for Table

• Historical Fed Funds Rate
• History of Dow Closing Average
• Cost of Wars

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

End of Fiscal Year	Debt (in billions)	GDP (in billions)	Debt/GDP Ratio	Event
2012	$16,066	$15,776	102%
2011	$14,790	$15,163	102%	Obama Stimulus Act (ARRA) spent $120 billion.
2010	$13,562	$14,736	92%	ARRA budgeted $400 billion.
2009	$11,910	$13,952	85%	Economy contracted 8.9% in Q4 '08, 6.7% in Q1 '09. ARRA spent $241.9 billion. War on Terror cost $79 billion. Fed funds rate lowered to 0%.
2008	$10,025	$14,395	70%	Economy contracted 3.7% in Q3 '08, 1.8% in Q1 '08. War on Terror cost $197.6 billion, Bank Bailout Bill cost $350 billion.
2007	$9,008	$14,126	64%	War on Terror cost $173.6 billion.
2006	$8,507	$13,433	63%	Katrina clean-up was $24.7 billion, swine flu added $6 billion, War on Terror cost $120.4 billion.
2005	$7,933	$12,729	62%	War on Terror cost $107.6 billion.
2004	$7,379	$11,936	62%	War on Terror was $94 billion.
2003	$6,783	$11,255	60%	Unemployment still at 6%. War on Terror cost $53 billion.
2002	$6,228	$10,702	58%	War on Terror added $33.8 billion.
2001	$5,807	$10,305	56%	2001 recession and 9/11 Attack
2000	$5,674	$10,018	57%
1999	$5,656	$9,405	60%
1998	$5,526	$8,847	62%
1997	$5,413	$8,410	66%
1996	$5,225	$7,893	66%
1995	$4,974	$7,453	67%
1994	$4,693	$7,132	66%
1993	$4,411	$6,688	66%
1992	$4,065	$6,390	64%
1991	$3,665	$6,034	61%	1991 recession.
1990	$3,233	$5,851	55%	Desert Storm.
1989	$2,857	$5,533	52%	Savings and Loan Crisis cost $125 billion.
1988	$2,602	$5,143	51%
1987	$2,350	$4,765	49%
1986	$2,125	$4,491	47%	President Reagan lowered tax rates.
1985	$1,828	$4,258	43%
1984	$1,572	$3,976	40%
1983	$1,377	$3,587	38%	Unemployment from the 1982 recession peaked at 10.8%.
1982	$1,142	$3,274	35%	1982 recession, GDP fell 6.4% in Q1 '82.
1981	$998	$3,177	31%	Beginning of 1982 recession.
1980	$908	$2,785	33%	1980 recession, Iran oil embargo, GDP fell 7.9% in Q2 '80.
1979	$827	$2,600	32%	Volcker became Fed Chair, increasing Fed funds rate to 20% to combat inflation.
1978	$772	$2,335	33%
1977	$699	$2,066	34%
1976	$620	$1,838	34%
1975	$533	$1,662	32%	Unemployment from 1973-75 recession peaked at 9% in May, GDP was down 4.8% in Q1 '75.
1974	$475	$1,514	31%	Wage-price controls worsened recession.
1973	$458	$1,391	33%	OPEC raised oil prices, Nixon went off gold standard, tripling inflation rate to 9.7%.
1972	$427	$1,249	34%
1971	$398	$1,139	35%	GDP down 4.2% in Q4 '70. Unemployment from 1970 recession peaked at 6.1% in Dec.
1970	$371	$1,051	35%
1969	$354	$996	36%
1968	$348	$919	38%
1967	$326	$837	39%
1966	$320	$793	40%
1965	$317	$725	44%	Vietnam War starts, total cost will be $111 billion.
1964	$312	$671	46%
1963	$306	$624	49%
1962	$299	$590	51%
1961	$289	$550	53%	GDP fell 4.2% in Q4 '60. Unemployment peaked at 6.1% in Dec.
1960	$286	$529	54%	1960 recession started.
1959	$285	$509	56%
1958	$276	$472	59%	GDP fell 4.2% in Q4 '57, and another 10.4% in Q1 '58. Unemployment peaked at 7.1% in Sep '58.
1957	$271	$466	58%
1956	$273	$439	62%
1955	$274	$419	65%
1954	$271	$381	71%	Recession follows end of Korean War.
1953	$266	$381	70%	Korean War ends, total war cost $30 billion.
1952	$259	$359	72%
1951	$255	$344	74%
1950	$257	$302	85%	Korean War starts.
1949	$253	$268	94%	1949 recession.
1948	$252	$274	92%
1947	$258	$245	106%
1946	$269	$222	121%	GDP fell 11%.
1945	$259	$223	116%	1945 recession due to end of WWII. War cost $296 billion.
1944	$201	$220	91%
1943	$137	$199	69%
1942	$72	$162	45%
1941	$49	$127	39%	Attack on Pearl Harbor, US entered WWII, ending the Great Depression.
1940	$43	$101	42%
1939	$40	$92	44%
1938	$37	$86	43%
1937	$36	$92	40%
1936	$34	$84	40%
1935	$29	$73	39%
1934	$27	$66	41%	World trade is down 66% from start of Depression.
1933	$23	$56	40%	Roosevelt took office, New Deal signed. Unemployment peaked at 25%.
1932	$19	$59	33%	Hoover worsened depression by raising taxes to balance budget.
1931	$17	$77	22%
1930	$16	$91	18%	Stock Market Crash of 1929. Congress passed Smoot-Hawley Tariffs.
1929	$17	$104	16%	Hoover maintained high wage controls. Fed raised discount rate to defend gold standard, creating deflation. Combination forces bankruptcies on businesses.