Interest payments in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Interest payments was 49.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
49.4%
Change on year
up 19.7%
World rank
1st
of 152 countries
All-time high
49.4%
in 2023
All-time low
22.1%
in 1995
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Interest payments in Sri Lanka, 1990–2023

010203040501990200620231990: 26.1 % of expense1991: 23.2 % of expense1992: 25.4 % of expense1993: 25.4 % of expense1994: 27 % of expense1995: 22.1 % of expense1996: 25.5 % of expense1997: 27.2 % of expense1998: 24.8 % of expense1999: 26.5 % of expense2000: 24.6 % of expense2001: 28.1 % of expense2002: 32.2 % of expense2003: 33.5 % of expense2004: 27.7 % of expense2005: 24.3 % of expense2006: 24.3 % of expense2007: 25.5 % of expense2008: 25.1 % of expense2009: 30.6 % of expense2010: 32.6 % of expense2011: 30.6 % of expense2012: 30.2 % of expense2013: 31.6 % of expense2014: 28.5 % of expense2015: 25.8 % of expense2016: 30.4 % of expense2017: 33.3 % of expense2018: 36.3 % of expense2019: 35.6 % of expense2020: 32.9 % of expense2021: 34.1 % of expense2022: 41.3 % of expense2023: 49.4 % of expense

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for interest payments in Sri Lanka is 49.4%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.

The figure is up 19.7% on the previous year and up 56.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, interest payments in Sri Lanka peaked at 49.4% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 22.1%, in 1995.

Sri Lanka ranks 1st of 152 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 25.3% 22.1% 27.2% 10
2000s 27.6% 24.3% 33.5% 10
2010s 31.5% 25.8% 36.3% 10
2020s 39.4% 32.9% 49.4% 4

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 2 Ghana 32.8% compare
  2. 3 Angola 31.9% compare
  3. 4 Zambia 26.5% compare

See the full ranking of 193 places →

More public sector data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is interest payments in Sri Lanka?
Interest payments in Sri Lanka was 49.4% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
What is the highest interest payments recorded in Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 49.4% in 2023.
What is the lowest interest payments recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 22.1% in 1995.
How does Sri Lanka rank for interest payments?
Sri Lanka ranks 1st out of 152 countries with data for 2023.
Is interest payments rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is up 56.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sri Lanka 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

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.