Interest payments in Lebanon
Lebanon: Interest payments was 16.95 trillion current LCU in 2024. ▲ Rising
Interest payments in Lebanon, 1997–2024
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in current LCU.
Analysis
Lebanon recorded 16.95 trillion current LCU for interest payments in 2024. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is up 549.7% on the previous year and up 168.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, interest payments in Lebanon peaked at 16.95 trillion current LCU in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.61 trillion current LCU, in 2021.
That places Lebanon 4th out of 155 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Interest payments in Lebanon, year by year
| Year | current LCU | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 3.48 trillion current LCU | — |
| 1998 | 3.35 trillion current LCU | -3.7% |
| 1999 | 3.62 trillion current LCU | +8.1% |
| 2000 | 3.98 trillion current LCU | +9.9% |
| 2001 | 4.09 trillion current LCU | +2.7% |
| 2002 | 4.37 trillion current LCU | +6.7% |
| 2003 | 4.94 trillion current LCU | +13.2% |
| 2004 | 3.92 trillion current LCU | -20.6% |
| 2005 | 3.41 trillion current LCU | -13.1% |
| 2006 | 4.33 trillion current LCU | +27.2% |
| 2007 | 4.69 trillion current LCU | +8.3% |
| 2008 | 4.96 trillion current LCU | +5.6% |
| 2009 | 5.78 trillion current LCU | +16.7% |
| 2010 | 5.89 trillion current LCU | +1.9% |
| 2011 | 5.65 trillion current LCU | -4.0% |
| 2012 | 5.46 trillion current LCU | -3.5% |
| 2013 | 5.71 trillion current LCU | +4.7% |
| 2014 | 6.31 trillion current LCU | +10.5% |
| 2015 | 6.72 trillion current LCU | +6.5% |
| 2016 | 7.19 trillion current LCU | +6.9% |
| 2017 | 7.52 trillion current LCU | +4.7% |
| 2018 | 8.16 trillion current LCU | +8.4% |
| 2019 | 8.07 trillion current LCU | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 2.92 trillion current LCU | -63.8% |
| 2021 | 2.61 trillion current LCU | -10.6% |
| 2024 | 16.95 trillion current LCU | +549.7% |
Lebanon compared with similar countries
- Lebanon's 16.95 trillion current LCU is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 39.26 billion current LCU, 431.7× the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Lebanon's 16.95 trillion current LCU is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 4.27 billion current LCU, 3973.0× the median. (14 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Interest payments in Lebanon changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | +549.7% | 2.61 trillion current LCU | 16.95 trillion current LCU |
| 2020 | -63.8% | 8.07 trillion current LCU | 2.92 trillion current LCU |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.49 trillion current LCU | 3.35 trillion current LCU | 3.62 trillion current LCU | 3 |
| 2000s | 4.45 trillion current LCU | 3.41 trillion current LCU | 5.78 trillion current LCU | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.67 trillion current LCU | 5.46 trillion current LCU | 8.16 trillion current LCU | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.49 trillion current LCU | 2.61 trillion current LCU | 16.95 trillion current LCU | 3 |
Countries ranked near Lebanon
More public sector data for Lebanon
- Democracy, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Democracy 6 (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 1 (2025)
- Elected parliament 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is interest payments in Lebanon?
- Interest payments in Lebanon was 16.95 trillion current LCU in 2024, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest interest payments recorded in Lebanon?
- The highest recorded value was 16.95 trillion current LCU in 2024.
- What is the lowest interest payments recorded in Lebanon?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.61 trillion current LCU in 2021.
- How does Lebanon rank for interest payments?
- Lebanon ranks 4th out of 155 countries with data for 2024.
- Is interest payments rising or falling in Lebanon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 168.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lebanon data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Interest payments (current LCU). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Interest payments include interest payments on government debt (including long-term bonds, long-term loans, and other debt instruments) to domestic and foreign residents. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.