Interest payments in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)

Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income): Interest payments was 13.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
13.2%
Change on year
up 12.1%
Rank
3rd
of 41 groups
All-time high
13.7%
in 1998
All-time low
7.8%
in 2014
Years of data
24
1998–2023

Interest payments in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), 1998–2023

0510151998201020231998: 13.7 % of expense1999: 11.9 % of expense2000: 13 % of expense2003: 11.9 % of expense2004: 12.4 % of expense2005: 10.8 % of expense2006: 10.5 % of expense2007: 9.5 % of expense2008: 9.9 % of expense2009: 10.7 % of expense2010: 11 % of expense2011: 10.1 % of expense2012: 10.2 % of expense2013: 9.6 % of expense2014: 7.8 % of expense2015: 8.8 % of expense2016: 11 % of expense2017: 10.9 % of expense2018: 11.5 % of expense2019: 11.9 % of expense2020: 9.4 % of expense2021: 10.3 % of expense2022: 11.8 % of expense2023: 13.2 % of expense

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

Analysis

Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) recorded 13.2% for interest payments in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 12.1% on the previous year and up 37.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, interest payments in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) peaked at 13.7% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 7.8%, in 2014.

That places Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 3rd out of 41 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.

Interest payments in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), year by year

Annual values for Interest payments (% of expense) in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), 1998 to 2023.
Year % of expense Change
1998 13.7%
1999 11.9% -12.9%
2000 13.0% +9.0%
2003 11.9% -7.9%
2004 12.4% +3.7%
2005 10.8% -13.2%
2006 10.5% -2.8%
2007 9.5% -8.8%
2008 9.9% +3.5%
2009 10.7% +8.0%
2010 11.0% +3.0%
2011 10.1% -7.9%
2012 10.2% +0.5%
2013 9.6% -5.9%
2014 7.8% -18.8%
2015 8.8% +13.1%
2016 11.0% +24.8%
2017 10.9% -0.8%
2018 11.5% +5.8%
2019 11.9% +3.1%
2020 9.4% -20.5%
2021 10.3% +9.3%
2022 11.8% +14.2%
2023 13.2% +12.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 12.8% 11.9% 13.7% 2
2000s 11.1% 9.5% 13.0% 8
2010s 10.3% 7.8% 11.9% 10
2020s 11.2% 9.4% 13.2% 4

Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)

  1. 1 Sri Lanka 49.4% compare
  2. 2 Ghana 32.8% compare
  3. 3 Angola 31.9% compare
  4. 4 Zambia 26.5% compare
  5. 5 Malawi 26.3% compare
  6. 6 Egypt 24.2% compare

See the full ranking of 193 places →

More public sector data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)

All data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) →

Frequently asked questions

What is interest payments in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
Interest payments in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) was 13.2% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
What is the highest interest payments recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
The highest recorded value was 13.7% in 1998.
What is the lowest interest payments recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
The lowest recorded value was 7.8% in 2014.
How does Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) rank for interest payments?
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) ranks 3rd out of 41 groups with data for 2023.
Is interest payments rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
Over the last ten years it is up 37.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 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 Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income). Statizoid, drawing on Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Retrieved 12 September 2026, from https://public-sector.statizoid.com/stat/interest-payments-percent-of-expense/latin-america-and-caribbean-excluding-high-income/

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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.