Benin's interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) was 0.95% in 2021, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 4.19 percentage points from -3.24% in 2011.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 0.95% | 2021 |
| Five years earlier | -1.63% | 2016 |
| Ten years earlier | -3.24% | 2011 |
| Highest | 1.67% | 2017 |
| Lowest | -3.6% | 2009 |
| Average since 2012 | -0.39% | 2012–2021 |
| First recorded | 0.44% | 2005 |
What the numbers say
In 2021, Benin's interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) fell 0.49 percentage points on 2020 (from 1.44% to 0.95%).
Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2020), the average change was +0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.32 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 3.3 percentage points in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.52 percentage points in 2006. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.55 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 79% 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 2021, Benin had the 9th highest value of the 10 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Benin | 0.95% | 2021 |
| World | 5.98% | 2019 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 7.11% | 2021 |
| Lower middle income | 6.55% | 2021 |
Closest to Benin in the 2021 ranking
- West Bank and Gaza — 6th of 10: 3.32%
- Pakistan — 7th of 10: 2.91%
- Oman — 8th of 10: 1.35%
- Burkina Faso — 10th of 10: 0.95%
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 17 values
| Year | Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 0.95 |
| 2020 | 1.44 |
| 2019 | 1.38 |
| 2018 | 1.37 |
| 2017 | 1.67 |
| 2016 | -1.63 |
| 2015 | -1.84 |
| 2014 | -1.92 |
| 2013 | -2.37 |
| 2012 | -2.95 |
| 2011 |
Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) in nearby economies
- Angola — 11.39% (2025)
- Botswana — 3.91% (2024)
- Burkina Faso — 0.95% (2021)
- Cabo Verde — 6.21% (2025)
- Comoros — 5.97% (2022)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 16.21% (2025)
- Côte d'Ivoire — -1.63% (2016)
- Eswatini — 6.97% (2024)
- Gambia, The — 15.5% (2025)
More financial sector data for Benin
- Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 19.76% (2025)
- Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 19.78% (2025)
- Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 19.78% (2025)
- GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 116.78 (2025)
- DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$581.93 (2025)
- Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$581.93 (2025)
- Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 1.55% (2025)
- Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 3.35 trillion (2025)
- Net foreign assets (current LCU) — 2.24 trillion (2025)
- Broad money (current LCU)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Benin's interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %)?
- 0.95% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2005?
- It is up 0.51 percentage points from 0.44% in 2005. The highest value was 1.67% in 2017 and the lowest -3.6% in 2009.
- How does Benin rank?
- 9th highest of 10 economies with data for 2021.
- Is the latest change in interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) unusual for Benin?
- In 2021, Benin's interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) fell 0.49 percentage points on 2020 (from 1.44% to 0.95%). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2020), the average change was +0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.32 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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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