Which Government Pays the Most on Interest Payments?

Based on a comparison of 125 countries in 2020, Sri Lanka ranked the highest in interest payments on government debt as a share of government expense with 32.9% followed by Zambia and Angola. On the other end of the scale was Lithuania with -11.6%, Iraq with 0.008% and United Arab Emirates with 0.109%.

Average interest payments on government debt as a share of government expense reached 5.47% in 2020 in the World according to the National Statistical Office. This is 13.3 % less than in the previous year and 2.16 % more than 10 years ago.

Historically, average interest payments on government debt as a share of government expense reached an all time high of 12.0% in 1997 and an all time low of 5.29% in 2011. The average annual growth amounted to -3.35 % since 1972.

Data for more countries are available at Interest Payments on Government Debt (As % of Government Expense) indicator page.