In 2024 the real gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States increased by 2.8 percent compared to 2023.
What does GDP growth mean? Essentially, the annual GDP of the U.S. is the monetary value of all goods and services produced within the country over a given year. On the surface, an increase in GDP therefore means that more goods and services have been produced between one period than another. In the case of annualized GDP, it is compared to the previous year. In 2023, for example, the U.S. GDP grew 2.5 percent compared to 2022. Countries with highest GDP growth rate Although the United States has by far the largest GDP of any country, it does not have the highest GDP growth, nor the highest GDP at purchasing power parity. In 2021, Libya had the highest growth in GDP, growing more than 177 percent compared to 2020. Furthermore, Luxembourg had the highest GDP per capita at purchasing power parity, a better measure of living standards than nominal or real GDP.

This statistic shows the average annual change in real GDP per capita in the United States from President Hoover to Obama, as of 2011. The biggest economic growth happened during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency. The Real Gross Domestic Product per capita increased by 5.25 percent each year.

Additional information on President Barack Obama’s first term economic policy performance

“It’s the economy, stupid” as the now famous saying by former President Bill Clinton goes is often used to demonstrate the importance continuants place on the economy’s performance. Appointed to President of the United States in 2008, President Obama entered the job in the early stages of a global economic crisis. The unemployment rate in the United States since 1990 demonstrates that Obama oversaw a reduction in unemployment rate since an initially sharp increase to over 9 percent in 2009 and 2010. Prior to the reduction, public approval of President Obama and the Republicans in congress in handling the economy shows that the public’s trust in Obama waned from 61 percent in February 2009 to 42 percent in November 2011. The fluctuation of America’s economy meant that Obama’s first term saw him reach an average of 76 thousand private sector jobs created per month as of June 2012, leaving him sixth in private sector job creation on the list of post-war presidents.

As leader of the most economically influential country on the planet, praise and criticism of Obama’s economic performance is also a global issue. In 2012, opinion on Obama’s management of global economic issues by country demonstrates the variety in opinion held in and across countries. While countries such as Britain and Germany whose economies appeared to be recovering held Obama’s economic policy in a positive light, opinion was more negative in Egypt and Greece were the economic situation was less optimistic.

As of the first quarter of 2025, the GDP of the U.S. fell by 0.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2024. GDP, or gross domestic product, is effectively a count of the total goods and services produced in a country over a certain period of time. It is calculated by first adding together a country’s total consumer spending, government spending, investments and exports; and then deducting the country’s imports. The values in this statistic are the change in ‘constant price’ or ‘real’ GDP, which means this basic calculation is also adjusted to factor in the regular price changes measured by the U.S. inflation rate. Because of this adjustment, U.S. real annual GDP will differ from the U.S. 'nominal' annual GDP for all years except the baseline from which inflation is calculated. What is annualized GDP? The important thing to note about the growth rates in this statistic is that the values are annualized, meaning the U.S. economy has not actually contracted or grown by the percentage shown. For example, the fall of 29.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020 did not mean GDP is suddenly one third less than a year before. In fact, it means that if the decline seen during that quarter continued at the same rate for a full year, then GDP would decline by this amount. Annualized values can therefore exaggerate the effect of short-term economic shocks, as they only look at economic output during a limited period. This effect can be seen by comparing annualized quarterly growth rates with the annual GDP growth rates for each calendar year.

This poll, fielded May 20-24, 2010, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling his job as president, whether things in the United States were going in the right direction, and how they would rate the condition of the national economy. Respondents were also asked what they thought was the most important problem facing the United States today, whether they approved or disapproved of the way President Obama was handling the economy, the situation with Afghanistan, health care, and the threat of terrorism. They were also asked whether they approved of the way Congress was handling its job, whether most members of Congress have done a good enough job to deserve re-election, and whether they felt the economy is getting better or worse. They were also queried on their feelings for the Democratic and Republican parties, about the way things are going in Washington, DC, how important they thought it was for there to be another woman on the Supreme Court, and their opinion of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. Respondents were asked how serious a problem they thought illegal immigration was, whether they thought the Arizona documentation policy went too far in dealing with illegal immigration, whether the federal government should have provided financial help to United States homeowners who were having trouble repaying their mortgages, whether the federal government should have provided financial help to United States automakers who were in financial trouble, and whether the federal government should have provided financial help to United States banks and financial institutions who were in financial trouble. Respondents were asked about the new health care reform bill and whether they approved it, and whether this new reform bill will mostly help, hurt, or not affect them. They were also queried on whether they favored increased drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast of the United States, whether they approved of the way the Obama Administration was handling the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and whether they approved the way BP was handling the same oil spill. They were asked to rate their family financial situation, how concerned they were about making ends meet financially in the next 12 months, how concerned they were in the next 12 months they or someone in their household might be out of work, how much the economic recession affected them and their family, and whether the economic recession affected plans for their children's future. They were also asked their opinion of the Tea Party movement and whether they considered themselves to be a supporter of the Tea Party movement. They were also asked whether they thought being gay or homosexual was a choice, whether same-sex relations between consenting adults is wrong, whether it is necessary to have laws to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination in housing and employment, and whether they personally know someone who is gay or lesbian. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, education level, household income, military service, religious preference, reported social class, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status, and whether respondents thought of themselves as born again Christians.

Adding to national debt is an inevitable fact of being President of the United States. The extent to which debt rises under any sitting president depends not only on the policy and spending choices they have made, but also the choices made by presidents and congresses that have come before them. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush President Ronald Reagan increased the U.S. debt by around **** trillion U.S. dollars, or ****** percent. This is often attributed to "Reaganomics," in which Reagan implemented significant supply-side economic policies in which he reduced government regulation, cut taxes, and tightened the money supply. Spending increased under President George W. Bush in light of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To finance the wars, President Bush chose to borrow the money, rather than use war bonds or increase taxes, unlike previous war-time presidents. Additionally, Bush introduced a number of tax cuts, and oversaw the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. Barack Obama President Obama inherited both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the financial crisis. The Obama administration also did not increase taxes to pay for the wars, and additionally passed expensive legislation to kickstart the economy following the economic crash, as well as the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The ACA expanded healthcare coverage to cover more than ** million more Americans through programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Though controversial at the time, more than half of Americans have a favorable view of the ACA in 2023. Additionally, he signed legislation making the W. Bush-era tax cuts permanent.

This poll, fielded July 9-12, 2009, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling the presidency, foreign policy, the situation in Iraq, health care and the economy, whether they thought things in the country were on the right track, their rating of the national economy and whether they thought the economy would get better. Respondents were also asked questions about the economic recession including how long they thought it would last, whether they believed the stimulus package made the economy better, whether the stimulus package would make the economy better in the future, whether the federal government should spend money to stimulate the national economy, whether it was acceptable to raise the deficit to create jobs and stimulate growth, and whether the federal budget deficit affected the respondent's family's financial situation. Several questions about health care were asked including whether President Obama would be able to bring about significant health care reform in his first term, whether respondents would favor government administered health insurance plans, and whether the respondent would consider public health care that anyone could join at any age. Opinions were sought about Sarah Palin, whether respondents heard about her resignation as Governor of Alaska, the reason she resigned, whether she would have the ability to be an effective president, whether the media was harder on her than other political figures, and whether respondents thought she would run for president in 2012. Other topics that were covered included, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, North Korea's development of weapons, Michael Jackson, the United States space program, marijuana, Barack Obama's Supreme Court Justice nominations, how the federal government should use taxpayer's money, how the deficit should be handled, personal finances, and job security. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, marital status, education level, household income, political party affiliation, political philosophy, perceived social class, religious preference, whether the respondent considered themselves to be a born-again Christian, and voter registration status and participation history.

This poll, fielded December 4-8, 2008, is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Opinions were sought on how well George W. Bush was handling the presidency, whether things in the country were on the right track, respondents' rating of the condition of the economy, and whether they thought the economy was getting better or worse. Respondents were asked their opinions of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama. Several questions also addressed the Obama Administration including how confident respondents were in Barack Obama's ability to make the right decisions regarding the country, whether respondents felt optimistic about the next four years with Barack Obama as president, and whether respondents approved of Obama's cabinet selections and his nomination of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. Respondents were asked their opinions about how well things were going for the United States' efforts to restore order to Iraq, how well they thought the war in Afghanistan was going for the United States, and the likelihood that there would be another terrorist attack in the United States within a few months. Other questions addressed whether respondents approved of the federal government providing financial assistance to banks and other financial institutions, the big three auto makers, and homeowners in attempts to improve the economy. Respondents were also asked whether the government should have a say on how the auto companies are managed, whether the government should require the auto makers to build more cars that use alternative fuels if they received financial aid, and whether or not the auto makers going out of business would have a major impact on the nation's economy. Other topics included the housing market, the job market, job security, and respondents' personal finances. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level, marital status, political party affiliation, political philosophy, household income, voter registration status and participation history, and religious preference.

This special topic poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. In this poll, fielded January 11-15, 2009, respondents were asked whether they approved of the way George W. Bush handled his job as president, the situation with Iraq, the campaign against terrorism, and the economy during his eight years in office. Respondents were asked their opinions about Barack Obama, their predictions about what kind of president he was going to be, how confident respondents were in his abilities to make the right decisions about the economy and things relating to the war in Iraq, and whether respondents thought Obama was going to create new jobs, cut taxes, and improve the economy during his term as president. Several questions addressed Obama's Cabinet selections and whether his administration would make progress in providing affordable health care, ending the war in Iraq, and fixing the nation's economy. Respondents were also asked their opinions of Joe Biden, Michelle Obama, and Dick Cheney. Information about respondents' personal financial situation was also collected including the biggest financial concern facing them, how respondents rated their own financial state, how concerned they were about paying their housing costs, how much the decline in home values had affected them, whether their household income was enough to meet their bills and obligations, whether they felt secure about their household's financial future, whether they would be able to make payments on a large purchase, whether they have had to postpone making a major purchase due to the economy, and whether any long term plans have changed for them and their families as a result of the economy. Respondents were also polled on whether the country was going in the right direction, whether the condition of the economy was good, what they thought was the most important problem facing the country, and how they viewed the country compared to five years previously and five years into the future. Additional topics addressed stock market investments, job security, whether homosexuals should serve in the military, the economics stimulus package, the United States military prison in Guantanamo Bay, whether the United States should increase the number of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the legalization of marijuana, whether American or foreign automakers produced better quality vehicles, whether the federal government should provide national health insurance, whether there were more advantages to being a man or a woman in society, and whether respondents approved of premarital sex and homosexual relations. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level, marital status, household income, political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status and participation history, employment status, perceived social class, whether there were children under the age of 18 living with the respondent, whether respondents owned their home, religious preference, and whether respondents considered themselves to be a born-again Christian.

This poll, fielded September 19-23, 2009, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling the presidency, the situations in Iraq and in Afghanistan, health care and the economy, whether they thought the country was on the right track, how they would rate the condition of the national economy and whether they thought the economy would get better. Respondents were also asked questions about the economic recession, whether they believed the stimulus package had made the economy better, whether the stimulus package would make the economy better in the future, and whether it was acceptable to raise the deficit to create jobs and stimulate growth. Several questions about health care were included that asked respondents how much change was needed in the health care system, how changes to the health care system would affect the Medicare program, whether they favored government administered health insurance plans, how satisfied they were with the quality of health care they were receiving, whether they were satisfied with their health care costs, whether they believed health care coverage could be increased without increasing the budget deficit, whether fixing the cost or providing coverage for the uninsured had the higher priority, and whether the respondent would consider public health care that anyone could join at any age. Other topics that were covered included, the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq, respondents' opinion of Michelle Obama, how the federal government should use taxpayer's money, how the deficit should be handled, personal finances, and job security. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, marital status, education level, household income, political party affiliation, political philosophy, perceived social class, religious preference, whether the respondent considered themselves to be a born-again Christian, and voter registration status and participation history.

This poll, fielded January 6-10, 2010, is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling his job as president, the economy, the war in Afghanistan, health care, and the threat of terrorism. Respondents were queried on what they thought was the most important problem facing the United States, how they would rate the condition of the national economy, whether they thought the economy was getting better or worse, and whether they approved of the way that the Democrats and the Republicans in Congress were handling health care. Respondents were also asked whether they thought health care reform was going too far in trying to provide health insurance to as many Americans as possible, in trying to control cost, and in trying to regulate the health insurance industry. Information was collected on whether respondents' thought that Guantanamo Prison should continue to operate, whether they favored or opposed mandatory testing of students in public schools each year to determine how well the school is educating students, whether they thought students should be required to learn a foreign language in order to graduate from high school, and whether they thought that teachers in public schools were paid too much, too little, or just the right amount. Respondents were asked whether they had children that attended school, what type of school their children attended, what grade they would give to the quality of their children's education, whether they thought their children's education was better or worse than the education they received. Information was collected on how much respondents' children studied, whether they thought that it was important for their children's school curriculum to include arts, music and physical education, whether they thought that their children would attend college, and whether they thought that their children's school was properly preparing them for college. Respondents were also asked to rate the United States on its ability to protect the country from terrorist attacks, how likely they thought it was that there would be another terrorist attack in the United States within the next few months, whether they were afraid of flying, whether they thought that it was justified for people of certain racial or ethnic groups to be subjected to additional security checks at airports, and whether they thought that X-ray machines should be used to scan the bodies of travelers at airports. Finally respondents were asked a number of miscellaneous questions including what their New Year's resolution was, what their favorite season was, who they thought was the top athletic role model, who they thought was the most important American contributor to literature, what place and time period they would most like to return to, and how often they fly. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, marital status, education level, household income, military service, religious preference, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, and voter registration status.

This poll, fielded October 8-11, 2008, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. A national sample of 1,101 adults was surveyed, including oversamples of African Americans and 18- to 29-year-olds, for a total of 150 African American respondents and 201 respondents aged 18 to 29 years. Respondents were asked whether the Democratic or Republican party could be trusted to do a better job coping with the main problems the nation would face over the next few years. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way George W. Bush was handling his job as president, whether things in the country were going in the right direction, and how concerned they were about the national economy. Views were sought on whether the Democratic or Republican party could be trusted to do a better job coping with the main problems the nation would face over the next few years. Respondents were also asked how closely they were following the 2008 presidential race, their opinions of presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, for whom they would vote in the general election in November, which candidate had the best chance of getting elected, and how comfortable respondents would be with a president who was African American and a president over the age of 72. Economic topics addressed how concerned respondents were that they could maintain their current standard of living, the most difficult economic issue affecting their family, particularly personal finances, the stock market, and the ability to obtain bank loans. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, marital status, political party affiliation, voter registration status and participation history, political philosophy, education level, religious preference, military service, household income, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), and whether respondents considered themselves to be a born-again Christian.

This poll, fielded March 18-21, 2011, is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on a range of political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling his job as president, the economy, foreign policy, and the federal budget deficit, whether they thought the country was headed in the right direction, and whether they approved of the way Congress was handling its job. Respondents were queried on the condition of the national economy, who they thought was mostly to blame for the current state of the nation's economy, and how serious a problem they thought the federal budget deficit was for the country. Opinions were gathered on Social Security, Medicare, nuclear power, gasoline prices, the Islam religion, and terrorism. Respondents were also asked how likely they thought it was that a major earthquake will happen in the United States in the next 20 years, whether they thought the federal government was prepared to deal with a major earthquake, how closely they have been following the uprising in Libya, whether they consider themselves to be a supporter of the Tea Party movement, whether they voted in the House of Representatives elections in 2010, whom they voted for in the 2008 presidential election, and how they would rate their current financial situation. Additional topics included same-sex marriage, the war in Afghanistan, the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis in Japan, and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, marital status, education level, household income, employment status, religious preference, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status, and whether respondents thought of themselves as born-again Christians.