What this measures
The deficit is the yearly gap; the debt is the accumulated total of past deficits plus a few other financing items. Deficits rise automatically in recessions, as tax receipts fall and safety-net spending rises, which is why the share-of-GDP view lines up so closely with the shaded recessions.
Source: OMB / Treasury via FRED (FYFSD, FYFSGDA188S). Updated automatically when the source publishes. How we handle data · Embed this chart