The World Almanac
Sample page
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Public Debt of the U.S. Source: Bureau of Public Debt, U.S. Dept. of the Treasury |
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| Fiscal year | Debt (billions) | Debt per cap. (dollars) | Interest paid (billions) | % of federal outlays | Fiscal year | Debt (billions) | Debt per cap. (dollars) | Interest paid (billions) | % of federal outlays |
| 1870 | $2.4 | $61.06 | — | — | 1979 | $826.5 | $3,669 | $59.8 | 11.9 |
| 1880 | 2.0 | 41.60 | — | — | 1980 | 907.7 | 3,985 | 74.9 | 12.7 |
| 1890 | 1.1 | 17.80 | — | — | 1981 | 997.9 | 4,338 | 95.6 | 14.1 |
| 1900 | 1.2 | 16.60 | — | — | 1982 | 1,142.0 | 4,913 | 117.4 | 15.7 |
| 1910 | 1.1 | 12.41 | — | — | 1983 | 1,377.2 | 5,870 | 128.8 | 15.9 |
| 1920 | 24.2 | 228 | — | — | 1984 | 1,572.3 | 6,640 | 153.8 | 18.1 |
| 1930 | 16.1 | 131 | — | — | 1985 | 1,823.1 | 7,598 | 178.9 | 18.9 |
| 1940 | 43.0 | 325 | $1.0 | 10.5 | 1986 | 2,125.3 | 8,774 | 190.2 | 19.2 |
| 1945 | 258.7 | 1,849 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 1987 | 2,350.3 | 9,615 | 195.4 | 19.5 |
| 1950 | 256.1 | 1,688 | 5.7 | 13.4 | 1988 | 2,602.3 | 10,534 | 214.1 | 20.1 |
| 1955 | 272.8 | 1,651 | 6.4 | 9.4 | 1989 | 2,857.4 | 11,545 | 240.9 | 21.0 |
| 1960 | 284.1 | 1,572 | 9.2 | 10.0 | 1990 | 3,233.3 | 13,000 | 264.8 | 21.1 |
| 1965 | 313.8 | 1,613 | 11.3 | 9.6 | 1991 | 3,665.3 | 14,436 | 285.5 | 21.6 |
| 1970 | 370.1 | 1,814 | 19.3 | 9.9 | 1992 | 4,064.6 | 15,846 | 292.3 | 21.2 |
| 1975 | 533.2 | 2,475 | 32.7 | 9.8 | 1993 | 4,411.5 | 17,105 | 292.5 | 20.8 |
| 1976 | 620.4 | 2,852 | 37.1 | 10.0 | 1994 | 4,692.8 | 18,025 | 296.3 | 20.3 |
| 1977 | 698.8 | 3,170 | 41.9 | 10.2 | 1995 | 4,974.0 | 18,930 | 332.4 | 22.0 |
| 1978 | 771.5 | 3,463 | 48.7 | 10.6 | 1996 | 5,224.8 | 19,805 | 344.0 | 22.0 |
Note: Through 1976 the fiscal year ended June 30. From 1977 on, the fiscal year ends Sept. 30. |
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Consumer Price Index
The Consumer Price index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time of basic consumer goods and services. From Jan. 1978, the Bureau of Labor Statistics began publishing CPI's for 2 population groups: (1) a CPI for all urban consumers (CPI-U), which covers about 80% of the total population; and (2) a CPI for urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W), which covers about 32% of the total population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, retirees, and others not in the labor force.
The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels; transportation fares; charges for doctors' and dentists' services; drug prices; and prices of the other goods and services bought for day-to-day living. The index currently measures price changes from a designated reference period, 1982-84, which equals 100.0. Use of this reference period began in Jan. 1988.
| Consumer Price Indexes, First Half 1997 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Labor (Data are semiannual averages of monthly figures) |
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| CPI-U (all urban consumers) | CPI-W (urban wage-earners/clerical) | |||
| (1982-84=100) | 1st half 1977 | % change 2d half 1996 to 1st half 1997 | 1st half 1977 | % change 2d half 1996 to 1st half 1997 |
| All items | 159.9 | 1.3 | 157.0 | 1.2 |
| Food, beverages | 157.0 | 1.2 | 156.5 | 1.2 |
| Housing | 155.9 | 1.3 | 152.6 | 1.3 |
| Apparel and upkeep | 133.3 | 1.9 | 132.6 | 2.0 |
| Transportation | 144.7 | 0.6 | 144.1 | 0.3 |
| Medical care | 233.4 | 1.6 | 232.8 | 1.6 |
| Entertainment | 162.1 | 1.4 | 159.5 | 1.2 |
| Other goods, services | 221.8 | 1.9 | 218.7 | 2.1 |
| Services | 178.2 | 1.5 | 175.3 | 1.4 |
| Special Indexes | ||||
| All items less food | 160.5 | 1.3 | 157.1 | 1.2 |
| Commodities less food | 133.8 | 0.8 | 134.0 | 0.8 |
| Nondurables | 146.1 | 1.2 | 145.9 | 1.2 |
| Energy | 111.6 | 0.0 | 111.2 | –0.1 |
| All items less energy | 166.3 | 1.3 | 163.4 | 1.2 |
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