Interest payments in World

World: Interest payments was 6.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
6.9%
Change on year
up 27.4%
Rank
28th
of 39 groups
All-time high
10.3%
in 1998
All-time low
4.7%
in 2008
Years of data
24
1998–2023

Interest payments in World, 1998–2023

02.557.5101998201020231998: 10.3 % of revenue1999: 9.8 % of revenue2002: 7.9 % of revenue2003: 7.9 % of revenue2004: 6.9 % of revenue2005: 6.1 % of revenue2006: 5.8 % of revenue2007: 4.8 % of revenue2008: 4.7 % of revenue2009: 5.4 % of revenue2010: 4.9 % of revenue2011: 5.2 % of revenue2012: 5.2 % of revenue2013: 5.4 % of revenue2014: 5.2 % of revenue2015: 5.4 % of revenue2016: 6.3 % of revenue2017: 6.1 % of revenue2018: 6.3 % of revenue2019: 6.1 % of revenue2020: 6.4 % of revenue2021: 6 % of revenue2022: 5.4 % of revenue2023: 6.9 % of revenue

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for interest payments in World is 6.9%, measured in 2023.

That represents a change of up 27.4% on the previous year and up 29.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, interest payments in World peaked at 10.3% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 4.7%, in 2008.

World ranks 28th of 39 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.

Interest payments in World, year by year

Annual values for Interest payments (% of revenue) in World, 1998 to 2023.
Year % of revenue Change
1998 10.3%
1999 9.8% -5.2%
2002 7.9% -19.3%
2003 7.9% -0.6%
2004 6.9% -12.6%
2005 6.1% -11.5%
2006 5.8% -4.6%
2007 4.8% -18.0%
2008 4.7% -0.8%
2009 5.4% +14.0%
2010 4.9% -8.9%
2011 5.2% +5.7%
2012 5.2% +0.0%
2013 5.4% +3.5%
2014 5.2% -3.2%
2015 5.4% +4.1%
2016 6.3% +17.5%
2017 6.1% -3.1%
2018 6.3% +3.0%
2019 6.1% -3.8%
2020 6.4% +4.7%
2021 6.0% -5.4%
2022 5.4% -9.9%
2023 6.9% +27.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 10.1% 9.8% 10.3% 2
2000s 6.2% 4.7% 7.9% 8
2010s 5.6% 4.9% 6.3% 10
2020s 6.2% 5.4% 6.9% 4

Countries ranked near World

  1. 25 Philippines 17.3% compare
  2. 26 Costa Rica 16.6% compare
  3. 27 Malaysia 15.6% compare
  4. 28 Mozambique 15.1% compare
  5. 29 Iceland 14.9% compare
  6. 30 Namibia 14.7% compare
  7. 31 El Salvador 14.3% compare

See the full ranking of 196 places →

More public sector data for World

All data for World →

Frequently asked questions

What is interest payments in World?
Interest payments in World was 6.9% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
What is the highest interest payments recorded in World?
The highest recorded value was 10.3% in 1998.
What is the lowest interest payments recorded in World?
The lowest recorded value was 4.7% in 2008.
How does World rank for interest payments?
World ranks 28th out of 39 groups with data for 2023.
Is interest payments rising or falling in World?
Over the last ten years it is up 29.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this World 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.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Interest payments in World. Statizoid, drawing on Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Retrieved 28 August 2026, from https://public-sector.statizoid.com/stat/interest-payments-percent-of-revenue/world/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://public-sector.statizoid.com/stat/interest-payments-percent-of-revenue/world/">Interest payments in World</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Interest payments (% of revenue)
Unit
% of revenue
Source
Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
196 places, 5,564 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 a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.