The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the federal budget deficit was about $1.30 trillion in fiscal year 2011, about the same dollar amount as the shortfall recorded in 2010.
The 2011 deficit was equal to 8.6% of gross domestic product, CBO estimates, down from 8.9% in 2010 and 10.0% in 2009, but greater than in any other year since 1945.
The estimated 2011 total reflects the shift of some payments from fiscal year 2012 into fiscal year 2011 (that is, from October to September, because October 1 fell on a weekend); without that shift, the deficit in 2011 would have been $1.27 trillion. CBO’s deficit estimate is based on data from the Daily Treasury Statements; the Treasury Department will report the actual deficit for fiscal year 2011 later this month.
