Canada: Real interest rate (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Canada's real interest rate (%) fell 1.84 percentage points on 2016 (from 1.97% to 0.13%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was −0.17 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.1 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 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 4.13 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.07 percentage points in 2010. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% 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.

Closest to Canada in the 2017 ranking

• Mauritania — 1st of 5: 15.18%
• Afghanistan — 2nd of 5: 12.14%
• Japan — 3rd of 5: 0.97%
• Venezuela, RB — 5th of 5: -89.47%

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 57 values

Real interest rate (%) in nearby economies

• United States — -1.26% (2021)

More financial sector data for Canada

• Consumer price index (2010 = 100) — 140.97 (2025)
• Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 2.07% (2025)
• GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 124.4 (2025)
• DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$1.4 (2025)
• Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$1.4 (2025)
• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 2.55% (2025)
• Lending interest rate (%) — 2.7% (2017)
• Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) — 2.18% (2017)
• Listed domestic companies, total — 4,377 (2025)
• Stocks traded, total value (current US$)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Canada's real interest rate (%)?

0.13% in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1961?

It is down 2.96 percentage points from 3.08% in 1961. The highest value was 10.36% in 1990 and the lowest -4.17% in 1974.

Is the latest change in real interest rate (%) unusual for Canada?

In 2017, Canada's real interest rate (%) fell 1.84 percentage points on 2016 (from 1.97% to 0.13%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was −0.17 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.1 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators, World Bank (WB).

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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.