Interest payments in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Interest payments was 16.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
16.7%
Change on year
up 4.9%
World rank
19th
of 152 countries
All-time high
20.9%
in 1996
All-time low
6.8%
in 1976
Years of data
51
1973–2023

Interest payments in Costa Rica, 1973–2023

5101520197319982023

Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 16.7% for interest payments in 2023.

That represents a change of up 4.9% on the previous year and up 77.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, interest payments in Costa Rica peaked at 20.9% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 6.8%, in 1976.

Costa Rica ranks 19th of 152 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.

Interest payments in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Interest payments (% of expense) in Costa Rica, 1973 to 2023.
Year % of expense Change
1973 8.9%
1974 8.5% -3.6%
1975 7.3% -14.6%
1976 6.8% -6.8%
1977 7.5% +10.6%
1978 7.3% -3.6%
1979 8.4% +16.1%
1980 10.1% +19.5%
1981 8.8% -12.5%
1982 9.9% +12.0%
1983 9.1% -8.1%
1984 10.8% +18.9%
1985 9.5% -11.9%
1986 9.7% +2.5%
1987 8.9% -8.7%
1988 10.6% +19.1%
1989 10.3% -2.5%
1990 12.8% +23.7%
1991 17.1% +33.5%
1992 16.2% -5.3%
1993 12.7% -21.4%
1994 14.0% +9.8%
1995 20.4% +46.0%
1996 20.9% +2.6%
1997 18.1% -13.3%
1998 15.7% -13.5%
1999 18.2% +16.4%
2000 17.3% -5.3%
2001 17.9% +3.6%
2002 17.8% -0.7%
2003 18.4% +3.3%
2004 18.2% -0.9%
2005 18.2% +0.1%
2006 17.5% -4.0%
2007 14.3% -17.9%
2008 9.8% -32.0%
2009 8.4% -14.3%
2010 8.1% -3.4%
2011 8.3% +3.0%
2012 7.8% -6.8%
2013 9.4% +21.3%
2014 9.3% -0.6%
2015 9.4% +0.4%
2016 10.2% +8.2%
2017 10.1% -0.3%
2018 11.9% +17.8%
2019 13.8% +16.0%
2020 14.6% +5.5%
2021 15.4% +5.4%
2022 15.9% +3.7%
2023 16.7% +4.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 7.8% 6.8% 8.9% 7
1980s 9.8% 8.8% 10.8% 10
1990s 16.6% 12.7% 20.9% 10
2000s 15.8% 8.4% 18.4% 10
2010s 9.8% 7.8% 13.8% 10
2020s 15.6% 14.6% 16.7% 4

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 16 Bahamas 18.4% compare
  2. 17 Dominican Republic 17.5% compare
  3. 18 Lao People's Democratic Republic 17.0% compare
  4. 20 Jordan 16.5% compare
  5. 21 Kenya 16.4% compare
  6. 22 Togo 16.2% compare

See the full ranking of 193 places →

More public sector data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is interest payments in Costa Rica?
Interest payments in Costa Rica was 16.7% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
What is the highest interest payments recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 20.9% in 1996.
What is the lowest interest payments recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 6.8% in 1976.
How does Costa Rica rank for interest payments?
Costa Rica ranks 19th out of 152 countries with data for 2023.
Is interest payments rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is up 77.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Interest payments (% of expense). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Interest payments in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://public-sector.statizoid.com/stat/interest-payments-percent-of-expense/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Interest payments (% of expense)
Unit
% of expense
Source
Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
193 places, 5,277 data points, 1972–2024
Last refreshed

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 as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.