Interest payments (% of expense) in France
France: Interest payments (% of expense) was 3.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Interest payments in France, 1972–2023
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
In 2023, interest payments in France stood at 3.4%.
That represents a change of down 9.7% on the previous year and down 24.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, interest payments in France peaked at 6.6% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 1973.
France ranks 105th of 152 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.
Interest payments (% of expense) in France, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 1.5% | — |
| 1973 | 1.2% | -16.7% |
| 1974 | 1.4% | +11.0% |
| 1975 | 2.2% | +56.1% |
| 1976 | 1.9% | -10.9% |
| 1977 | 2.1% | +6.8% |
| 1978 | 2.2% | +5.6% |
| 1979 | 2.3% | +7.9% |
| 1980 | 2.2% | -7.1% |
| 1981 | 3.2% | +46.0% |
| 1982 | 3.2% | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 4.1% | +30.0% |
| 1984 | 4.2% | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 4.5% | +7.5% |
| 1986 | 4.6% | +1.8% |
| 1987 | 4.4% | -4.5% |
| 1988 | 4.3% | -1.8% |
| 1989 | 4.7% | +7.8% |
| 1990 | 5.2% | +10.9% |
| 1991 | 5.3% | +2.4% |
| 1992 | 5.8% | +8.6% |
| 1993 | 6.1% | +5.0% |
| 1994 | 6.4% | +5.4% |
| 1995 | 6.3% | -1.6% |
| 1996 | 6.6% | +4.6% |
| 1997 | 6.5% | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 6.6% | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 6.2% | -5.7% |
| 2000 | 6.2% | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 6.1% | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 6.0% | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 5.7% | -4.9% |
| 2004 | 5.7% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 5.6% | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 5.4% | -4.6% |
| 2007 | 5.5% | +1.9% |
| 2008 | 5.7% | +4.0% |
| 2009 | 4.9% | -14.4% |
| 2010 | 4.9% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 5.4% | +9.1% |
| 2012 | 5.2% | -4.4% |
| 2013 | 4.5% | -12.2% |
| 2014 | 4.3% | -4.6% |
| 2015 | 4.1% | -6.0% |
| 2016 | 3.8% | -5.4% |
| 2017 | 3.6% | -6.6% |
| 2018 | 3.6% | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 3.2% | -13.1% |
| 2020 | 2.4% | -25.3% |
| 2021 | 2.7% | +13.3% |
| 2022 | 3.8% | +40.6% |
| 2023 | 3.4% | -9.7% |
France compared with similar countries
- France's 3.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.3%, 1.0× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- France's 3.4% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3.3%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Interest payments (% of expense) in France 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | +56.1% | 1.4% | 2.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.8% | 1.2% | 2.3% | 8 |
| 1980s | 3.9% | 2.2% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.1% | 5.2% | 6.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.7% | 4.9% | 6.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.3% | 3.2% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.1% | 2.4% | 3.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near France
More public sector data for France
- Democracy, 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)
- Elected parliament, 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)
- Arms imports 236.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 2.74 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 56.67 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is interest payments in France?
- Interest payments in France was 3.4% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest interest payments recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 6.6% in 1996.
- What is the lowest interest payments recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 1973.
- How does France rank for interest payments?
- France ranks 105th out of 152 countries with data for 2023.
- Is interest payments rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France 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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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 as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.