Interest payments in Australia
Australia: Interest payments was 3.1% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Interest payments in Australia, 1972–2022
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of revenue.
Analysis
In 2022, interest payments in Australia stood at 3.1%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.9% on the previous year and down 16.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, interest payments in Australia peaked at 10.7% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 1.3%, in 2008.
Australia ranks 114th of 155 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 51 years of available data.
Interest payments in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of revenue | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 6.7% | — |
| 1973 | 6.9% | +2.8% |
| 1974 | 5.8% | -16.6% |
| 1975 | 5.6% | -2.6% |
| 1976 | 5.1% | -8.8% |
| 1977 | 6.4% | +24.7% |
| 1978 | 6.9% | +7.0% |
| 1979 | 7.5% | +9.5% |
| 1980 | 7.3% | -2.9% |
| 1981 | 7.1% | -2.1% |
| 1982 | 6.9% | -3.4% |
| 1983 | 7.4% | +6.8% |
| 1984 | 8.6% | +16.3% |
| 1985 | 9.6% | +11.8% |
| 1986 | 10.7% | +11.3% |
| 1987 | 10.6% | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 9.2% | -13.4% |
| 1989 | 8.2% | -10.9% |
| 1990 | 7.4% | -9.2% |
| 1991 | 6.2% | -17.3% |
| 1992 | 6.0% | -2.9% |
| 1993 | 5.5% | -7.4% |
| 1994 | 6.4% | +15.5% |
| 1995 | 7.1% | +11.7% |
| 1996 | 7.4% | +3.8% |
| 1997 | 7.1% | -3.7% |
| 1998 | 6.0% | -15.7% |
| 1999 | 7.6% | +25.5% |
| 2000 | 6.1% | -19.4% |
| 2001 | 3.3% | -45.3% |
| 2002 | 2.9% | -13.2% |
| 2003 | 2.4% | -18.3% |
| 2004 | 1.9% | -20.2% |
| 2005 | 1.7% | -9.2% |
| 2006 | 1.6% | -9.4% |
| 2007 | 1.4% | -7.4% |
| 2008 | 1.3% | -7.0% |
| 2009 | 1.5% | +15.7% |
| 2010 | 2.3% | +48.8% |
| 2011 | 3.1% | +34.6% |
| 2012 | 3.7% | +19.1% |
| 2013 | 3.5% | -6.0% |
| 2014 | 3.5% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 3.9% | +9.7% |
| 2016 | 3.9% | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 3.8% | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 3.7% | -2.6% |
| 2019 | 3.5% | -5.7% |
| 2020 | 3.5% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 3.2% | -8.0% |
| 2022 | 3.1% | -3.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.4% | 5.1% | 7.5% | 8 |
| 1980s | 8.6% | 6.9% | 10.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.7% | 5.5% | 7.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.4% | 1.3% | 6.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.5% | 2.3% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.3% | 3.1% | 3.5% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 111 Botswana 3.4% compare
- 112 Uzbekistan 3.3% compare
- 113 Austria 3.1% compare
- 115 United Arab Emirates 3.0%
- 116 Tajikistan 2.9% compare
- 117 Finland 2.9% compare
More public sector data for Australia
- Arms imports 983.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 36.15 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0006 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 159.37 % change on previous year (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 983.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 1,244 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0192 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate 4.42 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 33.82 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 49.27 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is interest payments in Australia?
- Interest payments in Australia was 3.1% in 2022, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest interest payments recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 10.7% in 1986.
- What is the lowest interest payments recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.3% in 2008.
- How does Australia rank for interest payments?
- Australia ranks 114th out of 155 countries with data for 2022.
- Is interest payments rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia 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 revenue). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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 a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.