What this measures
In dollars, the debt chart is a hockey stick: prices, population and the economy have all grown since 1790. The inflation-adjusted and share-of-GDP views answer better questions — how much the debt has grown in real terms, and how large it is relative to the economy that supports it.
Total public debt includes debt the government owes itself, mainly the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. Debt held by the public, the measure most economists use, is roughly four-fifths of the total.
Source: U.S. Treasury Historical Debt Outstanding; FRED (GFDEGDQ188S). Updated automatically when the source publishes. How we handle data · Embed this chart