Interest payments in North America
North America: Interest payments was 14.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Interest payments in North America, 1972–2024
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of revenue.
Analysis
In 2024, interest payments in North America stood at 14.3%.
The figure is up 12.8% on the previous year and up 70.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, interest payments in North America peaked at 24.4% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 6.4%, in 1973.
That places North America 4th out of 39 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.
Interest payments in North America, year by year
| Year | % of revenue | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 6.9% | — |
| 1973 | 6.4% | -7.2% |
| 1974 | 8.3% | +28.9% |
| 1975 | 8.4% | +1.6% |
| 1976 | 9.2% | +9.6% |
| 1977 | 9.0% | -2.4% |
| 1978 | 8.2% | -8.6% |
| 1979 | 9.6% | +17.1% |
| 1980 | 11.2% | +16.6% |
| 1981 | 12.3% | +9.2% |
| 1982 | 14.7% | +19.7% |
| 1983 | 16.4% | +11.5% |
| 1984 | 17.2% | +5.1% |
| 1985 | 19.2% | +11.8% |
| 1986 | 18.8% | -2.3% |
| 1987 | 17.2% | -8.6% |
| 1988 | 17.5% | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 17.3% | -1.2% |
| 1990 | 24.4% | +41.2% |
| 1991 | 23.8% | -2.4% |
| 1992 | 22.8% | -4.4% |
| 1993 | 21.9% | -3.9% |
| 1994 | 21.4% | -2.2% |
| 1995 | 22.5% | +5.4% |
| 1996 | 21.7% | -3.9% |
| 1997 | 19.3% | -10.9% |
| 1998 | 18.4% | -4.7% |
| 1999 | 16.9% | -8.1% |
| 2000 | 15.5% | -8.5% |
| 2001 | 15.4% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 14.0% | -8.9% |
| 2003 | 12.9% | -7.7% |
| 2004 | 12.1% | -6.4% |
| 2005 | 11.6% | -3.8% |
| 2006 | 11.3% | -3.0% |
| 2007 | 11.2% | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 10.8% | -3.3% |
| 2009 | 10.6% | -2.5% |
| 2010 | 10.7% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 11.0% | +3.3% |
| 2012 | 10.2% | -7.5% |
| 2013 | 8.9% | -13.1% |
| 2014 | 8.4% | -5.2% |
| 2015 | 7.7% | -7.9% |
| 2016 | 8.1% | +4.0% |
| 2017 | 7.8% | -3.8% |
| 2018 | 9.1% | +17.3% |
| 2019 | 9.4% | +3.8% |
| 2020 | 8.2% | -13.0% |
| 2021 | 8.2% | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 9.6% | +17.4% |
| 2023 | 12.7% | +32.3% |
| 2024 | 14.3% | +12.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8.3% | 6.4% | 9.6% | 8 |
| 1980s | 16.2% | 11.2% | 19.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 21.3% | 16.9% | 24.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.5% | 10.6% | 15.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.1% | 7.7% | 11.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.6% | 8.2% | 14.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near North America
More public sector data for North America
- Arms imports 1.36 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 3.56 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 56.45 % change on previous year (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 1.36 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 2,692 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0325 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate 8.84 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 1.03 trillion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 48.39 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is interest payments in North America?
- Interest payments in North America was 14.3% in 2024, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest interest payments recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 24.4% in 1990.
- What is the lowest interest payments recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.4% in 1973.
- How does North America rank for interest payments?
- North America ranks 4th out of 39 groups with data for 2024.
- Is interest payments rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 70.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North America 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.