Gross Domestic Product (GDP) = private consumption + gross investment + government investment + government spending + (exports – imports)
The United States has the largest economy in the world today with GDP at $20.4 trillion. The second-largest GDP is China’s at $14.1 trillion. Russia’s GDP is $1.75 trillion and Mexico’s GDP is 1.28 trillion.1
U.S. GDP by Year Since 19292
| Year | GDP (trillions) | GDP Growth Rate | Major Events | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | $0.105 | NA | Great Depression began | |
| 1930 | $0.092 | -8.5% | Smoot-Hawley | |
| 1931 | $0.077 | -6.4% | Dust Bowl | |
| 1932 | $0.060 | -12.9% | Hoover tax hikes | |
| 1933 | $0.057 | -1.2% | New Deal | |
| 1934 | $0.067 | 10.8% | Deficit Spending | |
| 1935 | $0.074 | 8.9% | Social Security | |
| 1936 | $0.085 | 12.9% | FDR tax hikes | |
| 1937 | $0.093 | 5.1% | Depression returned | |
| 1938 | $0.087 | -3.3% | Depression ended | |
| 1939 | $0.093 | 8.0% | WWII / Dust Bowl ended | |
| 1940 | $0.103 | 8.8% | Defense increased | |
| 1941 | $0.129 | 17.7% | Pearl Harbor | |
| 1942 | $0.166 | 18.9% | War | |
| 1943 | $0.203 | 17.0% | Defense spending tripled | |
| 1944 | $0.224 | 8.0% | Bretton Woods | |
| 1945 | $0.228 | -1.0% | WWII ended. Recession | |
| 1946 | $0.228 | -11.6% | Truman budget cuts | |
| 1947 | $0.250 | -1.1% | Cold War began | |
| 1948 | $0.275 | 4.1% | Recession | |
| 1949 | $0.273 | -0.6% | NATO / Fair Deal | |
| 1950 | $0.300 | 8.7% | Korean War | |
| 1951 | $0.347 | 8.0% | War | |
| 1952 | $0.367 | 4.1% | War | |
| 1953 | $0.389 | 4.7% | War ended / Recession | |
| 1954 | $0.391 | -0.6% | Dow returned to 1929 high | |
| 1955 | $0.426 | 7.1% | Infrastructure spending | |
| 1956 | $0.449 | 2.1% | Highway Act of 1956 | |
| 1957 | $0.474 | 2.1% | Recession | |
| 1958 | $0.481 | -0.7% | Recession ended | |
| 1959 | $0.522 | 6.9% | Fed raised rates | |
| 1960 | $0.542 | 2.6% | Recession | |
| 1961 | $0.562 | 2.6% | Deficit Spending / Recession ends | |
| 1962 | $0.604 | 6.1% | ||
| 1963 | $0.638 | 4.4% | ||
| 1964 | $0.685 | 5.8% | Medicare / Medicaid | |
| 1965 | $0.742 | 6.5% | ||
| 1966 | $0.813 | 6.6% | Vietnam War | |
| 1967 | $0.860 | 2.7% | War | |
| 1968 | $0.941 | 4.9% | Moon landing | |
| 1969 | $1.018 | 3.1% | Nixon took office | |
| 1970 | $1.073 | 0.2% | Recession | |
| 1971 | $1.165 | 3.3% | Wage-price controls | |
| 1972 | $1.279 | 5.3% | Stagflation | |
| 1973 | $1.425 | 5.6% | End of gold standard | |
| 1974 | $1.545 | -0.5% | Watergate | |
| 1975 | $1.685 | -0.2% | Recession ended | |
| 1976 | $1.873 | 5.4% | Fed lowered rate | |
| 1977 | $2.082 | 4.6% | Inflation. | |
| 1978 | $2.352 | 5.5% | Fed raised rate to 20% to stop inflation. | |
| 1979 | $2.627 | 3.2% | ||
| 1980 | $2.857 | -0.3% | Recession | |
| 1981 | $3.207 | 2.5% | Reagan tax cut | |
| 1982 | $3.344 | -1.8% | Recession ended | |
| 1983 | $3.634 | 4.6% | Tax hike and defense spending. | |
| 1984 | $4.038 | 7.2% | ||
| 1985 | $4.339 | 4.2% | Booming economy | |
| 1986 | $4.580 | 3.5% | Tax cut | |
| 1987 | $4.855 | 3.5% | Black Monday | |
| 1988 | $5.236 | 4.2% | Fed raised rates | |
| 1989 | $5.642 | 3.7% | S&L Crisis | |
| 1990 | $5.963 | 1.9% | Recession | |
| 1991 | $6.158 | -0.1% | Recession | |
| 1992 | $6.520 | 3.5% | NAFTA drafted | |
| 1993 | $6.859 | 2.8% | Balanced Budget Act | |
| 1994 | $7.287 | 4.0% | Bond selloff | |
| 1995 | $7.640 | 2.7% | Fed raised rate | |
| 1996 | $8.073 | 3.8% | Welfare reform | |
| 1997 | $8.578 | 4.4% | Asian Financial Crisis | |
| 1998 | $9.063 | 4.5% | LTCM crisis | |
| 1999 | $9.631 | 4.8% | Repeal of Glass-Steagall | |
| 2000 | $10.252 | 4.1% | Tech bubble burst | |
| 2001 | $10.582 | 1.0% | 9/11 attacks | |
| 2002 | $10.936 | 1.7% | War on Terror | |
| 2003 | $11.458 | 2.9% | Iraq War. JGTRRA | |
| 2004 | $12.214 | 3.8% | Presidential race | |
| 2005 | $13.037 | 3.5% | Katrina. Bankruptcy Act | |
| 2006 | $13.815 | 2.9% | Fed raised rates | |
| 2007 | $14.452 | 1.9% | Bank crisis | |
| 2008 | $14.713 | -0.1% | Financial crisis | |
| 2009 | $14.449 | -2.5% | Stimulus Act | |
| 2010 | $14.992 | 2.6% | ACA. Dodd-Frank | |
| 2011 | $15.543 | 1.6% | Extreme Deficit Spending | |
| 2012 | $16.197 | 2.2% | Extreme Deficit Spending | |
| 2013 | $16.785 | 1.8% | Sequestration | |
| 2014 | $17.522 | 2.5% | Extreme Deficit Spending | |
| 2015 | $18.219 | 2.9% | Extreme Deficit Spending | |
| 2016 | $18.707 | 1.6% | Presidential race | |
| 2017 | $19.485 | 2.2% | Trump Tax Act. Deregulation | |
| 2018 | $20.494 | 2.9% | Fed raised rates |
Where do you think we will go from here?
| TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
|---|
Capitol Hellway Media Company
A Free Media Company in Naples Florida
NOTES
- Source “GDP by Country 2019“
- Source “US GDP by Year Compared to Recessions and Events“