Interest payments in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Interest payments was 49.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Interest payments in Sri Lanka, 1990–2023
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.
Interest payments in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 26.1% | — |
| 1991 | 23.2% | -10.9% |
| 1992 | 25.4% | +9.5% |
| 1993 | 25.4% | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 27.0% | +6.6% |
| 1995 | 22.1% | -18.4% |
| 1996 | 25.5% | +15.6% |
| 1997 | 27.2% | +6.6% |
| 1998 | 24.8% | -8.8% |
| 1999 | 26.5% | +6.8% |
| 2000 | 24.6% | -7.0% |
| 2001 | 28.1% | +14.3% |
| 2002 | 32.2% | +14.3% |
| 2003 | 33.5% | +4.3% |
| 2004 | 27.7% | -17.5% |
| 2005 | 24.3% | -12.3% |
| 2006 | 24.3% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 25.5% | +5.0% |
| 2008 | 25.1% | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 30.6% | +21.9% |
| 2010 | 32.6% | +6.8% |
| 2011 | 30.6% | -6.3% |
| 2012 | 30.2% | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 31.6% | +4.6% |
| 2014 | 28.5% | -9.6% |
| 2015 | 25.8% | -9.6% |
| 2016 | 30.4% | +18.1% |
| 2017 | 33.3% | +9.5% |
| 2018 | 36.3% | +8.9% |
| 2019 | 35.6% | -2.1% |
| 2020 | 32.9% | -7.6% |
| 2021 | 34.1% | +3.7% |
| 2022 | 41.3% | +21.2% |
| 2023 | 49.4% | +19.7% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 49.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.8%, 5.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 49.4% is above the median for South Asia, which is 16.0%, 3.1× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
More public sector data for Sri Lanka
- 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 6 (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 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 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.