Interest payments in Europe & Central Asia

Europe & Central Asia: Interest payments was 4.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
4.2%
Change on year
up 29.4%
Rank
33rd
of 41 groups
All-time high
9.3%
in 1997
All-time low
3.0%
in 2021
Years of data
31
1993–2023

Interest payments in Europe & Central Asia, 1993–2023

2468101993200820231993: 8.4 % of expense1994: 8.5 % of expense1995: 7.8 % of expense1996: 8.2 % of expense1997: 9.3 % of expense1998: 9 % of expense1999: 7.7 % of expense2000: 7.7 % of expense2001: 7.3 % of expense2002: 6.4 % of expense2003: 5.6 % of expense2004: 5.2 % of expense2005: 4.8 % of expense2006: 4.3 % of expense2007: 3.8 % of expense2008: 3.6 % of expense2009: 3.5 % of expense2010: 3.8 % of expense2011: 4.4 % of expense2012: 4.5 % of expense2013: 4.6 % of expense2014: 4.4 % of expense2015: 4.4 % of expense2016: 4.2 % of expense2017: 4.1 % of expense2018: 4 % of expense2019: 3.7 % of expense2020: 3.2 % of expense2021: 3 % of expense2022: 3.2 % of expense2023: 4.2 % of expense

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

Analysis

Europe & Central Asia recorded 4.2% for interest payments in 2023.

That represents a change of up 29.4% on the previous year and down 9.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, interest payments in Europe & Central Asia peaked at 9.3% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 3.0%, in 2021.

Europe & Central Asia ranks 33rd of 41 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.

Interest payments in Europe & Central Asia, year by year

Annual values for Interest payments (% of expense) in Europe & Central Asia, 1993 to 2023.
Year % of expense Change
1993 8.4%
1994 8.5% +1.3%
1995 7.8% -9.0%
1996 8.2% +6.3%
1997 9.3% +13.4%
1998 9.0% -3.6%
1999 7.7% -14.1%
2000 7.7% -0.4%
2001 7.3% -5.4%
2002 6.4% -12.2%
2003 5.6% -13.1%
2004 5.2% -6.0%
2005 4.8% -9.0%
2006 4.3% -9.8%
2007 3.8% -10.7%
2008 3.6% -7.2%
2009 3.5% -2.5%
2010 3.8% +9.3%
2011 4.4% +16.7%
2012 4.5% +2.0%
2013 4.6% +2.3%
2014 4.4% -4.6%
2015 4.4% -0.0%
2016 4.2% -4.0%
2017 4.1% -3.8%
2018 4.0% -0.8%
2019 3.7% -7.9%
2020 3.2% -14.2%
2021 3.0% -6.5%
2022 3.2% +8.2%
2023 4.2% +29.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 8.4% 7.7% 9.3% 7
2000s 5.2% 3.5% 7.7% 10
2010s 4.2% 3.7% 4.6% 10
2020s 3.4% 3.0% 4.2% 4

Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia

  1. 30 Fiji 14.6% compare
  2. 31 South Africa 14.3% compare
  3. 32 Côte d'Ivoire 14.1% compare
  4. 33 Namibia 14.1% compare
  5. 34 El Salvador 14.1% compare
  6. 35 Panama 13.4% compare
  7. 36 Senegal 13.2% compare

See the full ranking of 193 places →

More public sector data for Europe & Central Asia

All data for Europe & Central Asia →

Frequently asked questions

What is interest payments in Europe & Central Asia?
Interest payments in Europe & Central Asia was 4.2% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
What is the highest interest payments recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
The highest recorded value was 9.3% in 1997.
What is the lowest interest payments recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
The lowest recorded value was 3.0% in 2021.
How does Europe & Central Asia rank for interest payments?
Europe & Central Asia ranks 33rd out of 41 groups with data for 2023.
Is interest payments rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia?
Over the last ten years it is down 9.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Europe & Central Asia 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.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Interest payments in Europe & Central Asia. Statizoid, drawing on Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Retrieved 03 September 2026, from https://public-sector.statizoid.com/stat/interest-payments-percent-of-expense/europe-and-central-asia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://public-sector.statizoid.com/stat/interest-payments-percent-of-expense/europe-and-central-asia/">Interest payments in Europe & Central Asia</a> — Statizoid

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.