Interest payments in Iceland
Iceland: Interest payments was 14.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Interest payments in Iceland, 1972–2023
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
In 2023, interest payments in Iceland stood at 14.7%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.8% on the previous year and down 34.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, interest payments in Iceland peaked at 28.4% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 3.3%, in 1972.
Iceland ranks 29th of 152 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.
Interest payments in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 3.3% | — |
| 1973 | 4.0% | +20.3% |
| 1974 | 3.8% | -3.4% |
| 1975 | 6.9% | +80.4% |
| 1976 | 6.2% | -10.6% |
| 1977 | 6.6% | +6.2% |
| 1978 | 8.1% | +23.3% |
| 1979 | 8.5% | +4.3% |
| 1980 | 6.5% | -22.6% |
| 1981 | 7.2% | +9.8% |
| 1982 | 8.1% | +12.5% |
| 1983 | 9.2% | +14.2% |
| 1984 | 11.5% | +24.8% |
| 1985 | 11.5% | +0.3% |
| 1986 | 9.9% | -14.5% |
| 1987 | 7.6% | -23.0% |
| 1988 | 9.1% | +19.8% |
| 1989 | 9.5% | +4.4% |
| 1990 | 10.2% | +7.8% |
| 1991 | 10.4% | +1.2% |
| 1992 | 10.2% | -2.0% |
| 1993 | 10.7% | +5.6% |
| 1994 | 11.0% | +2.6% |
| 1995 | 11.8% | +7.5% |
| 1996 | 10.7% | -9.6% |
| 1997 | 10.7% | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 10.6% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 10.4% | -2.5% |
| 2000 | 9.4% | -9.0% |
| 2001 | 9.2% | -3.1% |
| 2002 | 7.7% | -16.1% |
| 2003 | 6.7% | -12.3% |
| 2004 | 6.2% | -7.2% |
| 2005 | 15.2% | +143.8% |
| 2006 | 17.5% | +14.8% |
| 2007 | 18.4% | +5.2% |
| 2008 | 22.0% | +19.6% |
| 2009 | 28.4% | +29.2% |
| 2010 | 20.6% | -27.4% |
| 2011 | 22.1% | +6.8% |
| 2012 | 23.3% | +5.5% |
| 2013 | 22.7% | -2.7% |
| 2014 | 19.1% | -15.8% |
| 2015 | 20.1% | +5.6% |
| 2016 | 16.0% | -20.5% |
| 2017 | 17.1% | +6.5% |
| 2018 | 14.9% | -12.5% |
| 2019 | 12.9% | -13.6% |
| 2020 | 9.7% | -24.6% |
| 2021 | 10.2% | +4.8% |
| 2022 | 15.5% | +52.0% |
| 2023 | 14.7% | -4.8% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 14.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.3%, 4.5× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 14.7% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3.3%, 4.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Interest payments in Iceland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +143.8% | 6.2% | 15.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.9% | 3.3% | 8.5% | 8 |
| 1980s | 9.0% | 6.5% | 11.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.7% | 10.2% | 11.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.1% | 6.2% | 28.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.9% | 12.9% | 23.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.5% | 9.7% | 15.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 26 Lebanon 15.2% compare
- 27 Malaysia 14.9% compare
- 28 Guinea-Bissau 14.9% compare
- 30 Fiji 14.6% compare
- 31 South Africa 14.3% compare
- 32 Cote d'Ivoire 14.1% compare
More public sector data for Iceland
- 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 7 (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 Iceland?
- Interest payments in Iceland was 14.7% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest interest payments recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 28.4% in 2009.
- What is the lowest interest payments recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.3% in 1972.
- How does Iceland rank for interest payments?
- Iceland ranks 29th out of 152 countries with data for 2023.
- Is interest payments rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland 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 — 52 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 as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.