Interest payments in Laos
Laos: Interest payments was 17.0% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Interest payments in Laos, 2008–2022
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
In 2022, interest payments in Laos stood at 17.0%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is up 54.4% on the previous year and up 157.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, interest payments in Laos peaked at 17.0% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 4.6%, in 2009.
Laos ranks 18th of 152 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Interest payments in Laos, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 7.0% | — |
| 2009 | 4.6% | -34.5% |
| 2010 | 6.1% | +32.9% |
| 2011 | 5.9% | -3.5% |
| 2012 | 6.6% | +11.4% |
| 2013 | 6.4% | -3.4% |
| 2014 | 5.3% | -16.4% |
| 2015 | 6.4% | +21.1% |
| 2016 | 7.7% | +20.0% |
| 2017 | 11.0% | +42.2% |
| 2018 | 13.8% | +25.8% |
| 2019 | 14.2% | +2.4% |
| 2020 | 13.3% | -6.3% |
| 2021 | 11.0% | -17.1% |
| 2022 | 17.0% | +54.4% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 17.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 10.0%, 1.7× the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Laos's 17.0% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.0%, 5.7× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.8% | 4.6% | 7.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 8.4% | 5.3% | 14.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.8% | 11.0% | 17.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More public sector data for Laos
- 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 1 (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 Laos?
- Interest payments in Laos was 17.0% in 2022, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest interest payments recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 17.0% in 2022.
- What is the lowest interest payments recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.6% in 2009.
- How does Laos rank for interest payments?
- Laos ranks 18th out of 152 countries with data for 2022.
- Is interest payments rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is up 157.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Laos 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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CSV · JSON — 15 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.