Title: US National Debt by Year - Stats & Facts | Balancing Everything
Headings: US National Debt by Year – Statistics & Facts
US National Debt by Year – Statistics & Facts
Stats on the US National Debt by Year (Editor’s Choice)
General US National Debt Statistics
1. The outstanding national debt of the USA in 2019 was $22.72 trillion.
2. In 2020, the total US national debt hit $26.9 trillion.
3. In 2020, the US will pay $479 billion in interest on debt owed to the public.
4. Adding unfunded obligations takes the federal government’s total obligations to $62 trillion.
5. The US per capita national debt in 2019 stood at $69,042.
6. In 2018, the US national debt was 104.26% of the country’s GDP.
7. The US has the 13th highest national debt to GDP ratio in the world.
8. The statutory limit on the US federal debt was raised to $21.9 trillion in August 2019.
9. Interest payments were the US government’s 4th largest budgetary expense as of 2019.
10. The 10-year Treasury note yield fell below the 1%-mark for the first time in national debt history in early 2020.
11. As of February 2020, the high federal debt and the budget deficit were considered the 2nd most important economic problem according to American citizens.
12. Since 1971, the US has seen budget deficits in 45 of 49 years, while there were only 41 years with a deficit in the preceding 70 years.
13. If the US government focused all of its income on debt repayment, it could pay off all of its debts in about 7 years.
14. While the US has never formally defaulted on its federal debt, technically speaking, it did default once in April 1979.
Debt Held by Foreign Creditors
15. 28.86% of the US government debt was owned by foreign and international institutions in 2019.
16. Japan is the largest holder of US treasury securities, valued at $1.15 trillion in December 2019.
17. The increase in Japan’s US national debt holdings in 2019 was the largest since 2013.
18. China has held more than $1 trillion in US national debt since 2010.
National Debt by President
19. In terms of dollar value, Barack Obama was the US President who grew the debt burden the most.
20. In percentage terms, the US president who grew the debt burden the most was Franklin D. Roosevelt.
21. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost the US more than $2 trillion.
22. The US budget deficit increased to $984 billion in 2019 from $585 billion in 2016.
23. Budget deficit under President Trump is on track to rise to $1 trillion in 2020.
US National Debt Growth Statistics
24. The ratio of US national debt held by the public to the US GDP is expected to reach nearly 100% by 2028.
25. Data on the US national debt by year show that gross federal debt will grow to $36 trillion by 2030.
26. The ratio of gross federal debt to GDP is expected to rise to 113% by 2030, as per the latest national debt by year chart.
Consequences of Rising National Debt by Year
27. Each percentage point above a public debt-to-GDP ratio of 77% costs 0.017 percentage points of annual real growth for a developed economy.
28. Each $1 of new borrowing reduces total investment by $0.33.
29. Under current laws, the US national debt interest payments will exceed the spending on defense by 2025 and become the single largest government expenditure by 2050.
30. The US has 28% of GDP in fiscal space today to combat the next crisis; it will decline to 13% by 2029, according to a national debt graph.
31. US interest spending will surpass spending on children in 2020 based on current US national debt by year figures.
Conclusion

Content: Before 1971, those occurred only during economic downturns or wars. In response to accelerating inflation in the late 1960s, President Richard Nixon decoupled the value of the US dollar from gold in 1971. The amount of currency that could be printed and spent had previously been limited, keeping the US debt over time largely in check. (Forbes)
13. If the US government focused all of its income on debt repayment, it could pay off all of its debts in about 7 years. The latest figures from the Congressional Budget Office indicate that the US government’s 2019 revenues from taxes, fines, investments, and other sources of income amounted to $3.5 trillion, or about 16.3% of the GDP. So, while the US national debt by year might seem very high in dollar terms, the US government’s revenue generation levels show that it remains serviceable, with the economy expanding at an equally fast rate. This is also why many economists do not consider the country’s rising debt that big of an issue. (Forbes)
14. While the US has never formally defaulted on its federal debt, technically speaking, it did default once in April 1979.