Interest payments in South Africa

South Africa: Interest payments was 393.43 billion current LCU in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
393.43 billion current LCU
Change on year
up 8.2%
World rank
35th
of 155 countries
All-time high
393.43 billion current LCU
in 2024
All-time low
232.00 million current LCU
in 1972
Years of data
53
1972–2024

Interest payments in South Africa, 1972–2024

0100.0B200.0B300.0B400.0B197219982024

Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in current LCU.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 393.43 billion current LCU for interest payments in 2024. That is the highest value across all 53 years on record.

The figure is up 8.2% on the previous year and up 225.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, interest payments in South Africa peaked at 393.43 billion current LCU in 2024 and was at its lowest, 232.00 million current LCU, in 1972.

South Africa ranks 35th of 155 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 478.25 million current LCU 232.00 million current LCU 897.00 million current LCU 8
1980s 4.66 billion current LCU 1.11 billion current LCU 10.68 billion current LCU 10
1990s 27.86 billion current LCU 11.81 billion current LCU 44.30 billion current LCU 10
2000s 50.71 billion current LCU 46.40 billion current LCU 59.46 billion current LCU 10
2010s 135.03 billion current LCU 69.41 billion current LCU 215.23 billion current LCU 10
2020s 318.75 billion current LCU 240.56 billion current LCU 393.43 billion current LCU 5

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 32 Senegal 579.04 billion current LCU compare
  2. 33 Madagascar 555.08 billion current LCU compare
  3. 34 Cambodia 473.14 billion current LCU compare
  4. 36 Armenia 313.58 billion current LCU compare
  5. 37 Gabon 308.52 billion current LCU compare
  6. 38 Burkina Faso 305.62 billion current LCU compare

See the full ranking of 155 places →

More public sector data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is interest payments in South Africa?
Interest payments in South Africa was 393.43 billion current LCU in 2024, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
What is the highest interest payments recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 393.43 billion current LCU in 2024.
What is the lowest interest payments recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 232.00 million current LCU in 1972.
How does South Africa rank for interest payments?
South Africa ranks 35th out of 155 countries with data for 2024.
Is interest payments rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 225.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Interest payments (current LCU). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator
Interest payments (current LCU)
Unit
current LCU
Source
Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
155 places, 4,505 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 in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.