Nearly $15 Trillion In Debt Added Since 1982

The United States ended the 1982 fiscal year with $1,142,034,000,000 in total debt (that's $1.14 trillion). This was the first time that the United States had ever ended a fiscal year with more than a trillion dollars in debt.

There are just a few days left in the 2012 fiscal year, and the United States currently has a total debt load of over $16 trillion.

That means that from October 1st, 1982 until September 19th, 2012, the country has added nearly $15 trillion to its debt load.

Let's take a look at the outstanding debt balance at the end of every fiscal year from 1982 until present day. The first big number will be the fiscal year ending amount in nominal dollars, while the second big number will be the inflation adjusted amounts:

1982 $1,142,034,000,000 $2,619,344,036,697
1983 $1,377,210,000,000 $3,060,466,666,667
1984 $1,572,266,000,000 $3,345,246,808,511
1985 $1,823,103,000,000 $3,751,240,740,741
1986 $2,125,302,616,660 $4,293,540,639,717
1987 $2,350,276,890,950 $4,572,523,134,144
1988 $2,602,337,712,040 $4,864,182,639,327
1989 $2,857,430,960,190 $5,093,459,822,086
1990 $3,233,313,451,780 $5,470,919,546,159
1991 $3,665,303,351,700 $5,950,167,778,734
1992 $4,064,620,655,520 $6,411,073,589,148
1993 $4,411,488,883,140 $6,755,725,701,593
1994 $4,692,749,910,010 $7,004,104,343,299
1995 $4,973,982,900,710 $7,219,133,382,743
1996 $5,224,810,939,140 $7,369,267,897,236
1997 $5,413,146,011,400 $7,456,123,982,645
1998 $5,526,193,008,900 $7,498,226,606,377
1999 $5,656,270,901,620 $7,511,647,943,718
2000 $5,674,178,209,890 $7,293,288,187,519
2001 $5,807,463,412,200 $7,250,266,432,210
2002 $6,228,235,965,600 $7,660,806,845,756
2003 $6,783,231,062,740 $8,152,921,950,409
2004 $7,379,052,696,330 $8,640,576,927,787
2005 $7,932,709,661,720 $8,983,816,151,438
2006 $8,506,973,899,220 $9,338,061,360,285
2007 $9,007,653,372,260 $9,613,290,685,443
2008 $10,024,724,896,900 $10,302,903,285,612
2009 $11,909,829,003,500 $12,278,174,230,412
2010 $13,561,623,030,900 $13,754,181,572,921
2011 $14,790,340,328,557 $14,790,340,328,557
2012* $16,008,938,323,900 $16,008,938,323,900

*2012 Fiscal Year is Ongoing

Now, a few things will probably jump out at you.

First, the outstanding debt number never dropped from fiscal year to fiscal year, despite the fact that the country allegedly paid down debt during the Clinton years. We explain that here.

Second, you probably noticed that the country's outstanding debt load has absolutely skyrocketed over the past 11-12 years. From the end of FY2000 until present day, the nation has added over $10 trillion to its debt load.

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How much will the nation owe at the end of the 2042 fiscal year?

Source: History of Debt in the United States

Filed under: General Knowledge