Federal debt compared with the size of the U.S. economy neared peak levels during the pandemic
Federal debt held by the public — the amount of interest-generating U.S. Treasury securities held by bondholders — relative to gross domestic product
Chart showing that gross federal debt held by the public — interest-generating United States Treasury bonds — peaked as a proportion of G.D.P. in World War II at over 100 percent and reached percentages nearly as high during the pandemic.
