President Barack Obama reflected upon his accomplishments over the past eight years in a series of thoughtful tweets Sunday as he wished his fellow Americans a Happy New Year.

Obama praised the American people for the 'remarkable progress' they have 'made possible' during his two presidential terms. He pointed out how employment and healthcare have improved under his administration and mentioned clean energy, marriage equality and diplomacy.

'It’s been the privilege of my life to serve as your President. I look forward to standing with you as a citizen. Happy New Year everybody,' Obama wrote in the last tweet of the series.

The president's message contrasts with Donald Trump's choice of words for his own New Year tweet. The tycoon chose to taunt his political 'enemies' in a boastful tweet, saying Democrats 'had lost so badly they just don't know what to do'.

President Barack Obama looked back on his accomplishments over the past eight years in a heartfelt series of tweets on New Year's Day to mark the beginning of 2017

Obama praised the American people for the 'remarkable progress' they have 'made possible' during his two presidential terms

Obama invited his followers to begin 2017 by thinking about the changes his presidency have brought.

'As we look ahead to the future, I wanted to take a moment to look back on the remarkable progress that you made possible these past 8 years,' he wrote.

'Facing the worst financial crisis in 80 years, you delivered the longest streak of job growth in our history,' the president tweeted with an accompanying graph.

He reminded his followers that the number of Americans without health insurance had hit an all-time low in 2016, falling at 8.9 per cent.

'We traded foreign oil for clean energy, we doubled fuel efficiency standards, & we acted on a global scale to save the one planet we've got,' his next tweet read.

Obama said his administration had 'strengthened US leadership' and brought home some of its troops.

'From realizing marriage equality to removing barriers to opportunity, we've made history in our work to reaffirm that all are created equal,' he wrote.

His Happy New Year message came one day after Trump posted his own holiday greeting, which had a much different tone.

'Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don't know what to do. Love!' the president-elect wrote.

The message appeared to be a thinly-veiled jab at Obama's decision to sanction Russia over its attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Vladimir Putin, who has denied any involvement, opted not to retaliate after the president expelled 35 Russian agents and closed two luxurious Russian-owned compounds.