For teachers. This answer key isn't linked from the students' page or worksheet; keep this link to yourself or share it with colleagues. Its numbers are the charts' current data, so they match what students see today.

Students' assignment Worksheet

Answer key · for teachers

Charts to read and discuss

Figures as of November 14, 2026, from each chart's current data.

Chart 1 of 1 · Federal budget

How big is the federal debt compared with the economy?

The chart's answer: At the end of fiscal 2026 the federal debt was 125% of a year's GDP, everything the U.S. economy produces in a year. It fell from 96% in 1948 to a low of 32% in 1981, passed 100% in 2013 and jumped to 126% in 2020. This is total debt, including what the government owes its own trust funds, divided by GDP over the same fiscal year; it starts in 1948 because BEA's quarterly GDP starts in 1947, and recent GDP figures are revised.

Key numbers (Debt as % of GDP)

Questions

  1. When was the debt smallest compared with the economy, and when was it largest?

    • Highest: 126.3% (2020)
    • Lowest: 31.8% (1981)

  2. The debt can grow in dollars while this percentage falls. How is that possible?

    • 1948 to 2026: up 28.3 percentage points
    • Biggest rise from one point to the next: 19.6 percentage points, 2019 to 2020
    • Biggest drop from one point to the next: 14.3 percentage points, 1950 to 1951

  3. Pick a big jump on the chart. What events could make the government borrow much more in a short time?

    • 1948 to 2026: up 28.3 percentage points
    • Biggest rise from one point to the next: 19.6 percentage points, 2019 to 2020
    • Biggest drop from one point to the next: 14.3 percentage points, 1950 to 1951

Source: U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data, Historical Debt Outstanding; GDP from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (NIPA Table 1.1.5) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Sep 30, 2026 · chart.ly/charts/us-debt-as-share-of-gdp

More free charts and assignments at chart.ly/teachers