U.S. fiscal deficit expected to be 6.6 pct of GDP by 2040: CBO

U.S. federal budget deficits are projected to rise steadily over the next 25 years, mainly because of the aging population and rising health care costs, according to a report by the Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday.

The non-partisan agency predicted that the U.S. budget deficit in 2040 will be 6.6 percent of the GDP, higher than the estimated 2.7 percent in 2015 and 3.8 percent in 2025.

U.S. government debt held by the public is expected to rise to 107 percent of GDP by 2040, higher than the estimated level of 74 percent by the end of 2015.

The agency expected the economy to grow more slowly over the next 25 years primarily because of the slowdown in labor force growth. It expected the GDP to grow an annual average of 2.2 percent over the 2015-2040 period, lower than the 3.1 percent seen in the past few decades.