Charts to read and discuss

Chart 1 of 1 · Federal budget

How big is the federal debt compared with the economy?

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.

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

How to read this chart

Each point divides the federal government's total debt by GDP, everything the U.S. economy produces in a year. At 100%, the debt equals one year of the whole economy's output. Comparing debt with the economy's size, instead of in dollars, makes years decades apart fair to compare.

Questions

1. When was the debt smallest compared with the economy, and when was it largest?
2. The debt can grow in dollars while this percentage falls. How is that possible?
3. Pick a big jump on the chart. What events could make the government borrow much more in a short time?

Chart and numbers: chart.ly/charts/us-debt-as-share-of-gdp · More free charts at chart.ly