Botswana's lending interest rate (%) was 6.26% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 2.74 percentage points from 9% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 6.26% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 6.4% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 9% | 2014 |
| Highest | 24.21% | 1982 |
| Lowest | 5.25% | 2021 |
| Average since 2015 | 6.52% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 8.48% | 1980 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Botswana's lending interest rate (%) fell 0.48 percentage points on 2023 (from 6.74% to 6.26%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.27 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.86 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 14.58 percentage points in 1982 and the biggest yearly fall was 10.83 percentage points in 1983. 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 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.17 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 43% 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 2024, Botswana had the 14th highest value of the 16 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 Botswana in the 2024 ranking
- Eswatini — 11th of 16: 10.88%
- Papua New Guinea — 12th of 16: 8.29%
- Albania — 13th of 16: 6.44%
- Fiji — 15th of 16: 4.56%
- China — 16th of 16: 4.35%
What this measures
Lending rate is the bank rate that usually meets the short- and medium-term financing needs of the private sector. This rate is normally differentiated according to creditworthiness of borrowers and objectives of financing. 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.
All 45 values
| Year | Lending interest rate (%) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 6.26 |
| 2023 | 6.74 |
| 2022 | 6.13 |
| 2021 | 5.25 |
| 2020 | 5.75 |
| 2019 | 6.4 |
| 2018 | 6.5 |
| 2017 | 6.88 |
| 2016 | 7.3 |
| 2015 | 7.95 |
| 2014 |
Lending interest rate (%) in nearby economies
- Angola — 19.37% (2025)
- Benin — 6.25% (2021)
- Burkina Faso — 6.25% (2021)
- Burundi — 12.37% (2025)
- Cabo Verde — 7.75% (2025)
- Comoros — 8.03% (2022)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 24.11% (2025)
- Côte d'Ivoire — 5.3% (2016)
- Eswatini — 10.88% (2024)
- Gambia, The — 22% (2025)
- Guinea-Bissau — 5.3% (2016)
- Kenya
More financial sector data for Botswana
- GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 136.44 (2025)
- DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$13.5 (2025)
- Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$13.5 (2025)
- Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 3.63% (2025)
- Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 33.12% (2025)
- Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 33.23% (2025)
- Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 33.23% (2025)
- Consumer price index (2010 = 100) — 202.64 (2025)
- Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 2.66% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Botswana's lending interest rate (%)?
- 6.26% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1980?
- It is down 2.22 percentage points from 8.48% in 1980. The highest value was 24.21% in 1982 and the lowest 5.25% in 2021.
- How does Botswana rank?
- 14th highest of 16 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in lending interest rate (%) unusual for Botswana?
- In 2024, Botswana's lending interest rate (%) fell 0.48 percentage points on 2023 (from 6.74% to 6.26%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.27 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.86 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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.LEND, 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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