CBO projects a 2019 deficit of $897 billion, equaling 4.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The projected shortfall (adjusted to exclude the effects of shifts in the timing of certain payments) grows to 4.7 percent of GDP in 2029. Federal debt held by the public is projected to reach $16.6 trillion at the end of 2019. That amount would equal 78 percent of GDP—nearly twice its average over the past 50 years. Debt is estimated to reach $28.7 trillion, or 93 percent of GDP, by 2029, a larger amount than at any time since just after World War II. It would continue to grow after 2029, reaching about 150 percent of GDP by 2049.