Developing countries pay the highest interest payments on public debt as a share of their gross domestic product (GDP), with Zambia paying the highest rate at ***** percent. Many developing countries rely on public debt to finance key investments, but a high debt burden means that funds need to be allocated to debt repayments.

In 2019, Interest Payments on Government Debt in Zambia jumped by 33.9points from a year earlier.

Among the largest economies worldwide, Italy has the highest public debt interest payment to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio. In 2023, Italy paid *** percent of its GDP in public debt interest payments. Among the countries in the list, Japan had the lowest public debt interest payment to GDP ratio, at **** percent.

The Latin American countries Brazil and Mexico pay the highest sum in public debt interest as a share of their gross domestic products (GDP) among the G20 member countries. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia ad South Korea had negative ratios, meaning that they received more payments than they paid themselves. Worldwide, Zambia paid the highest public debt interest payments in terms of its GDP.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Outlays: Interest as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYOIGDA188S) from 1940 to 2024 about outlays, percent, federal, interest, GDP, and USA.

This dataset provides values for INTEREST RATE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

United States US: Expenditure: Interest Payments data was reported at 475.117 USD bn in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 438.441 USD bn for 2015. United States US: Expenditure: Interest Payments data is updated yearly, averaging 218.950 USD bn from Sep 1972 (Median) to 2016, with 45 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 475.117 USD bn in 2016 and a record low of 14.820 USD bn in 1972. United States US: Expenditure: Interest Payments data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Government Revenue, Expenditure and Finance. Interest payments include interest payments on government debt--including long-term bonds, long-term loans, and other debt instruments--to domestic and foreign residents.; ; International Monetary Fund, Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files.; ;

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loans are public and publicly guaranteed debt extended by the World Bank Group. IBRD loans are made to, or guaranteed by, countries that are members of IBRD. IBRD may also make loans to IFC. IBRD lends at market rates. Data are in U.S. dollars calculated using historical rates. This dataset contains the latest available snapshot of the Statement of Loans. The World Bank complies with all sanctions applicable to World Bank transactions.

The long-term interest rate on government debt is a key indicator of the economic health of a country. The rate reflects financial market actors' perceptions of the creditworthiness of the government and the health of the domestic economy, with a strong and robust economic outlook allowing governments to borrow for essential investments in their economies, thereby boosting long-term growth.

The Euro and converging interest rates in the early 2000s

In the case of many Eurozone countries, the early 2000s were a time where this virtuous cycle of economic growth reduced the interest rates they paid on government debt to less than 5 percent, a dramatic change from the pre-Euro era of the 1990s. With the outbreak of the Global Financial Crisis and the subsequent deep recession, however, the economies of Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland were seen to be much weaker than previously assumed by lenders. Interest rates on their debt gradually began to rise during the crisis, before rapidly increasing beginning in 2010, as first Greece and then Ireland and Portugal lost the faith of financial markets.

The Eurozone crisis

This market adjustment was initially triggered due to revelations by the Greek government that the country's budget deficit was much larger than had been previously expected, with investors seeing the country as an unreliable debtor. The crisis, which became known as the Eurozone crisis, spread to Ireland and then Portugal, as lenders cut-off lending to highly indebted Eurozone members with weak fundamentals. During this period there was also intense speculation that due to unsustainable debt loads, some countries would have to leave the Euro currency area, further increasing the interest on their debt. Interest rates on their debt began to come back down after ECB Chief Mario Draghi signaled to markets that the central bank would intervene to keep the states within the currency area in his famous "whatever it takes" speech in Summer 2012.

The return of higher interest rates in the post-COVID era

Since this period of extremely high interest rates on government debt for these member states, the interest they are charged for borrowing has shrunk considerably, as the financial markets were flooded with "cheap money" due to the policy measures of central banks in the aftermath of the financial crisis, such as near-zero policy rates and quantitative easing. As interest rates have risen to combat inflation since 2022, so have the interest rates on government debt in the Eurozone also risen, however, these rises are modest compared to during the Eurozone crisis.

Afghanistan External Debt: Interest Payments: % of GNI data was reported at 0.082 % in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.079 % for 2017. Afghanistan External Debt: Interest Payments: % of GNI data is updated yearly, averaging 0.060 % from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2018, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.104 % in 2006 and a record low of 0.010 % in 1981. Afghanistan External Debt: Interest Payments: % of GNI data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Afghanistan – Table AF.World Bank.WDI: External Debt: Debt Outstanding, Debt Ratio and Debt Service. Total interest payments to gross national income.; ; World Bank, International Debt Statistics.; Weighted average;

United States US: Expenditure: Interest Payments: % of Revenue data was reported at 13.642 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 12.630 % for 2015. United States US: Expenditure: Interest Payments: % of Revenue data is updated yearly, averaging 15.112 % from Sep 1972 (Median) to 2016, with 45 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 19.229 % in 1985 and a record low of 6.428 % in 1973. United States US: Expenditure: Interest Payments: % of Revenue data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Government Revenue, Expenditure and Finance. Interest payments include interest payments on government debt--including long-term bonds, long-term loans, and other debt instruments--to domestic and foreign residents.; ; International Monetary Fund, Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files.; Median;

This dataset provides values for INTEREST PAYMENTS PERCENT OF REVENUE WB DATA.HTML reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

The average for 2023 based on 87 countries was 4.42 percent. The highest value was in Madagascar: 41.3 percent and the lowest value was in Zimbabwe: -73.54 percent. The indicator is available from 1961 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2023, the U.S. government spent a total of 875 billion U.S. dollars on interest of public debt. 497 billion U.S. dollars was on interest for debt held by the public.

The national debt of the United Stated can be found here.

In July 2025, global inflation rates and central bank interest rates showed significant variation across major economies. Most economies initiated interest rate cuts from mid-2024 due to declining inflationary pressures. The U.S., UK, and EU central banks followed a consistent pattern of regular rate reductions throughout late 2024. In the first half of 2025, Russia maintained the highest interest rate at 18 percent, while Japan retained the lowest at 0.5 percent. Varied inflation rates across major economies The inflation landscape varies considerably among major economies. China had the lowest inflation rate at 0 percent in July 2025. In contrast, Russia maintained a high inflation rate of 8.8 percent. These figures align with broader trends observed in early 2025, where China had the lowest inflation rate among major developed and emerging economies, while Russia's rate remained the highest. Central bank responses and economic indicators Central banks globally implemented aggressive rate hikes throughout 2022-23 to combat inflation. The European Central Bank exemplified this trend, raising rates from 0 percent in January 2022 to 4.5 percent by September 2023. A coordinated shift among major central banks began in mid-2024, with the ECB, Bank of England, and Federal Reserve initiating rate cuts, with forecasts suggesting further cuts through 2025 and 2026.

This dataset provides values for INTEREST RATE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

The average for 2023 based on 88 countries was 14.12 percent. The highest value was in Zimbabwe: 170.29 percent and the lowest value was in Switzerland: 2.86 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This dataset provides values for CONSUMER PRICE INDEX WITH FIXED INTEREST RATE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Sierra Leone External Debt: INT: Interest Payments: Central Bank data was reported at 0.034 USD mn in 2022. Sierra Leone External Debt: INT: Interest Payments: Central Bank data is updated yearly, averaging 0.034 USD mn from Dec 2022 (Median) to 2022, with 1 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.034 USD mn in 2022 and a record low of 0.034 USD mn in 2022. Sierra Leone External Debt: INT: Interest Payments: Central Bank data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Sierra Leone – Table SL.World Bank.IDS: External Debt: Disbursements and Interest Payment: Annual. Central bank long-term debt are aggregated. The central bank is the financial institution (or institutions) that exercises control over key aspects of the financial system. The monetary authority, normally the agency that issues currency and holds the country’s international reserves. Interest payments are actual amounts of interest paid by the borrower in currency, goods, or services in the year specified. Long-term external debt is defined as debt that has an original or extended maturity of more than one year and that is owed to nonresidents by residents of an economy and repayable in currency, goods, or services. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Abstract

The Survey on Interest Rate Controls 2020 was conducted as a World Bank Group study on interest rate controls (IRCs) in lending and deposit markets around the world. The study aims to identify the different types of formal (or de jure) controls, the countries that apply then, how they implement them, and the reasons for doing so. The objective of the study is to advance knowledge on this topic by providing an evidence base for investigating the impact of IRCs on economic outcomes.

The survey investigates present IRCs in each surveyed country, the reasons why they have been applied, the framework and resources associated with their application and the details as to their level and functioning. The focus is on legal forms of control (i.e. codified into law) as opposed to de facto controls. The new database on interest rate controls, a popular form of financial repression is based on a survey of 108 countries, representing 88 percent of global gross domestic product. The interest rate controls presented in this dataset were in effect in 2019.

Geographic coverage

Global Survey, covering 108 countries, representing 88 percent of global GDP.

Analysis unit

Regulation at the national level.

Universe

Banking supervisors and Local Banking Associations.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Mode of data collection

Mail Questionnaire [mail]

Research instrument

Bank supervisors and banking associations were provided with a standard excel file with five parts. The survey was structured in five parts, each placed in a different excel sheet. Part A: Introduction. Countries with no IRCs in place were asked to only answer this sheet and leave the rest blank. Part B: Presented the definitions of controls, institutions, products and additional aspects that will be covered in the survey. Part C: Introduced a set of qualitative questions to describe the IRCs in place. Part D: Displayed a set of tables to quantitatively describe the IRCs in place. Part E: Laid out the final set of questions, covering sanctions and control mechanisms that support the IRCs' enforcement. The questionnaire is provided in the Documentation section in pdf and excel.