Africa Eastern and Southern: Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Africa Eastern and Southern's interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) fell 0.05 percentage points on 2023 (from 8.14% to 8.08%).

Across the 28 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2023), the average change was −0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.8 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.83 percentage points in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.59 percentage points in 2021. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 12% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Interest rate spread is the interest rate charged by banks on loans to private sector customers minus the interest rate paid by commercial or similar banks for demand, time, or savings deposits. The terms and conditions attached to these rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.

Limitations: Countries use a variety of reporting formats, sample designs, interest compounding formulas, averaging methods, and data presentations for indices and other data series on interest rates. The IMF's Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual does not provide guidelines beyond the general recommendation that such data should reflect market prices and effective (rather than nominal) interest rates and should be representative of the financial assets and markets to be covered. For more information, please see http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/mfs/manual/index.htm.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 30 values

Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) in nearby economies

• Algeria — 6.25% (2025)
• Bahrain — 4.17% (2015)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 5.13% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 5.2% (2016)
• Iraq — 7.44% (2015)
• Israel — 2.52% (2022)
• Jordan — 2.62% (2025)
• Kuwait — 2.41% (2025)
• Lebanon — 0.82% (2019)

More financial sector data for Africa Eastern and Southern

• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 5.85% (2025)
• Broad money (% of GDP) — 49.2% (2025)
• Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 35.53% (2025)
• Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 35.61% (2025)
• Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) — 9.28% (2025)
• Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 48.08% (2024)
• Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 4.27% (2025)
• Stocks traded, turnover ratio of domestic shares (%) — 24.88% (2024)

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Questions people ask

What is Africa Eastern and Southern's interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %)?

8.08% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is down 0.5 percentage points from 8.58% in 1995. The highest value was 11.16% in 1999 and the lowest 6.55% in 2021.

Is the latest change in interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) unusual for Africa Eastern and Southern?

In 2024, Africa Eastern and Southern's interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) fell 0.05 percentage points on 2023 (from 8.14% to 8.08%). Across the 28 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2023), the average change was −0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.8 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FR.INR.LNDP, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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