Interest payments in OECD members

OECD members: Interest payments was 4.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
4.6%
Change on year
up 39.4%
All-time high
11.3%
in 1988
All-time low
2.8%
in 2021
Years of data
52
1972–2023

Interest payments in OECD members, 1972–2023

24681012197219972023

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for interest payments in OECD members is 4.6%, measured in 2023.

The figure is up 39.4% on the previous year and down 17.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, interest payments in OECD members peaked at 11.3% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 2.8%, in 2021.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 52 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 4.6% 3.5% 6.7% 8
1980s 8.9% 7.0% 11.3% 10
1990s 9.3% 7.8% 10.6% 10
2000s 5.7% 4.6% 7.5% 10
2010s 4.9% 3.8% 5.8% 10
2020s 3.5% 2.8% 4.6% 4

More public sector data for OECD members

All data for OECD members →

Frequently asked questions

What is interest payments in OECD members?
Interest payments in OECD members was 4.6% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
What is the highest interest payments recorded in OECD members?
The highest recorded value was 11.3% in 1988.
What is the lowest interest payments recorded in OECD members?
The lowest recorded value was 2.8% in 2021.
Is interest payments rising or falling in OECD members?
Over the last ten years it is down 17.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this OECD members 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 expense). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Interest payments (% of expense)
Unit
% of expense
Source
Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
193 places, 5,277 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 percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.