Interest payments in Romania
Romania: Interest payments was 3.9% in 2022. ◆ Volatile
Interest payments in Romania, 1985–2022
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
In 2022, interest payments in Romania stood at 3.9%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and down 36.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, interest payments in Romania peaked at 14.8% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1991.
That places Romania 103rd out of 152 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Interest payments in Romania, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 3.2% | — |
| 1986 | 2.0% | -37.5% |
| 1987 | 2.1% | +3.1% |
| 1988 | 1.2% | -41.6% |
| 1989 | 0.3% | -73.4% |
| 1991 | 0.1% | -62.3% |
| 1992 | 0.6% | +426.9% |
| 1993 | 2.6% | +312.1% |
| 1994 | 4.4% | +66.3% |
| 1995 | 5.7% | +30.7% |
| 1996 | 6.6% | +16.0% |
| 1997 | 14.8% | +122.7% |
| 1998 | 12.5% | -15.6% |
| 1999 | 14.7% | +17.9% |
| 2000 | 11.5% | -22.1% |
| 2001 | 10.2% | -10.8% |
| 2002 | 7.7% | -24.8% |
| 2003 | 5.2% | -32.8% |
| 2004 | 4.7% | -10.0% |
| 2005 | 3.9% | -16.0% |
| 2006 | 2.4% | -38.6% |
| 2007 | 1.9% | -19.5% |
| 2008 | 1.9% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 4.8% | +147.5% |
| 2010 | 4.8% | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 5.4% | +12.6% |
| 2012 | 6.1% | +13.3% |
| 2013 | 5.7% | -5.3% |
| 2014 | 4.9% | -14.7% |
| 2015 | 4.4% | -10.1% |
| 2016 | 4.0% | -9.5% |
| 2017 | 3.6% | -8.5% |
| 2018 | 3.3% | -10.5% |
| 2019 | 3.3% | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 3.6% | +7.8% |
| 2021 | 3.8% | +7.0% |
| 2022 | 3.9% | +1.2% |
Romania compared with similar countries
- Romania's 3.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.3%, 1.2× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Romania's 3.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3.3%, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Interest payments in Romania 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | +426.9% | 0.1% | 0.6% |
| 1993 | +312.1% | 0.6% | 2.6% |
| 2009 | +147.5% | 1.9% | 4.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1.8% | 0.3% | 3.2% | 5 |
| 1990s | 6.9% | 0.1% | 14.8% | 9 |
| 2000s | 5.4% | 1.9% | 11.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.5% | 3.3% | 6.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.8% | 3.6% | 3.9% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Romania
More public sector data for Romania
- 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 Romania?
- Interest payments in Romania was 3.9% in 2022, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest interest payments recorded in Romania?
- The highest recorded value was 14.8% in 1997.
- What is the lowest interest payments recorded in Romania?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1991.
- How does Romania rank for interest payments?
- Romania ranks 103rd out of 152 countries with data for 2022.
- Is interest payments rising or falling in Romania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Romania 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 — 37 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.