Armenia: Interest payments (% of expense)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Armenia's interest payments (% of expense) rose 1.72 percentage points on 2022 (from 11.02% to 12.74%).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2022), the average change was +0.44 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.83 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.15 percentage points in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.04 percentage points in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.72 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 82% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

How it compares

In 2023, Armenia had the 20th highest value of the 78 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Armenia in the 2023 ranking

• El Salvador — 16th of 78: 14.1%
• Colombia — 17th of 78: 13.19%
• United States — 18th of 78: 12.9%
• Papua New Guinea — 20th of 78: 12.28%
• Guatemala — 21st of 78: 11.96%
• Burkina Faso — 22nd of 78: 11.93%

What this measures

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.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

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

All 20 values

Interest payments (% of expense) in nearby economies

• Albania — 7.84% (2023)
• Austria — 2.55% (2023)
• Azerbaijan — 2.05% (2022)
• Belarus — 5.39% (2023)
• Belgium — 3.2% (2022)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 2.11% (2023)
• Bulgaria — 1.3% (2023)
• Croatia — 4.18% (2023)
• Cyprus — 3.05% (2023)
• Czechia — 3.15% (2022)
• Denmark — 1.39% (2023)

More public sector data for Armenia

• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 667.88 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 6.09% (2025)
• Intentional homicides, female (per 100,000 female) — 0.7 (2023)
• Intentional homicides, male (per 100,000 male) — 3.95 (2023)
• Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) — 2.21 (2023)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 1.73 billion (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 47,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 3.25% (2020)
• Net acquisition of financial assets (current LCU) — 30.16 billion (2024)
• Net acquisition of financial assets (% of GDP)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

What is Armenia's interest payments (% of expense)?

12.74% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2004?

It is up 9.7 percentage points from 3.04% in 2004. The highest value was 12.74% in 2023 and the lowest 1.47% in 2008.

How does Armenia rank?

20th highest of 78 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in interest payments (% of expense) unusual for Armenia?

In 2023, Armenia's interest payments (% of expense) rose 1.72 percentage points on 2022 (from 11.02% to 12.74%). Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2022), the average change was +0.44 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.83 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.INTP.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, 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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