Benin's real interest rate (%) was 4.56% in 2021, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 3.09 percentage points from 1.47% in 2011.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 4.56% | 2021 |
| Five years earlier | 4.58% | 2016 |
| Ten years earlier | 1.47% | 2011 |
| Highest | 7.33% | 2017 |
| Lowest | -2.47% | 2012 |
| Average since 2012 | 4.44% | 2012–2021 |
| First recorded | 3.6% | 2005 |
What the numbers say
In 2021, Benin's real interest rate (%) rose 1 percentage points on 2020 (from 3.56% to 4.56%).
Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2020), the average change was −0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.21 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above 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 6.31 percentage points in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.71 percentage points in 2008. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 26% 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
In 2021, Benin had the 4th highest value of the 11 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 Benin in the 2021 ranking
- Micronesia, Fed. Sts. — 1st of 11: 10.57%
- Burkina Faso — 2nd of 11: 6.13%
- Solomon Islands — 3rd of 11: 5.8%
- Paraguay — 5th of 11: 3.76%
- Mongolia — 6th of 11: 1.39%
- United States — 7th of 11: -1.26%
What this measures
An interest rate is the amount charged, expressed as a percentage of the principal over a period of time, by the owners of certain kinds of financial assets for putting the financial assets at the disposal of another institutional unit. The real interest rate is the lending interest rate adjusted for inflation as measured by the GDP deflator. The terms and conditions attached to lending rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability. This indicator is expressed as a percentage (a÷b)*100.
All 17 values
| Year | Real interest rate (%) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 4.56 |
| 2020 | 3.56 |
| 2019 | 7.11 |
| 2018 | 6.05 |
| 2017 | 7.33 |
| 2016 | 4.58 |
| 2015 | 4.27 |
| 2014 | 5.6 |
| 2013 | 3.84 |
| 2012 | -2.47 |
| 2011 | 1.47 |
Real interest rate (%) in nearby economies
- Angola — -0.93% (2025)
- Botswana — 4.24% (2024)
- Burkina Faso — 6.13% (2021)
- Burundi — -4.95% (2025)
- Cabo Verde — 5.9% (2025)
- Comoros — 0.05% (2022)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 15.12% (2025)
- Côte d'Ivoire — 6.55% (2016)
- Eswatini — 9.45% (2024)
- Gambia, The — 13.08% (2025)
- Guinea-Bissau — 2.51% (2016)
- Kenya
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 real interest rate (%)?
- 4.56% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2005?
- It is up 0.96 percentage points from 3.6% in 2005. The highest value was 7.33% in 2017 and the lowest -2.47% in 2012.
- How does Benin rank?
- 4th highest of 11 economies with data for 2021.
- Is the latest change in real interest rate (%) unusual for Benin?
- In 2021, Benin's real interest rate (%) rose 1 percentage points on 2020 (from 3.56% to 4.56%). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2020), the average change was −0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.21 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above 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.RINR, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators, World Bank (WB) 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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