Hungary: Interest payments (% of expense)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Hungary's interest payments (% of expense) rose 1.24 percentage points on 2021 (from 5.4% to 6.64%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was −0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.7 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 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 4.39 percentage points in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.28 percentage points in 1998. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.41 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 75% 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 2022, Hungary had the 9th highest value of the 23 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 Hungary in the 2022 ranking

• South Africa — 5th of 23: 14.29%
• Mozambique — 6th of 23: 11.3%
• Equatorial Guinea — 7th of 23: 9.94%
• Ecuador — 9th of 23: 4.74%
• Serbia — 10th of 23: 4%
• Lesotho — 11th of 23: 3.99%

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 42 values

Interest payments (% of expense) in nearby economies

• Albania — 7.84% (2023)
• Armenia — 12.74% (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)

More public sector data for Hungary

• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 1.77 trillion (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 402 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 5 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 2.04% (2025)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 2.75 trillion (2024)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 3.37% (2024)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) — -3.64 trillion (2024)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -4.46% (2024)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 5.09 trillion (2024)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

6.64% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1981?

It is up 3.43 percentage points from 3.2% in 1981. The highest value was 19.26% in 1996 and the lowest 1.88% in 1983.

How does Hungary rank?

9th highest of 23 economies with data for 2022.

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

In 2022, Hungary's interest payments (% of expense) rose 1.24 percentage points on 2021 (from 5.4% to 6.64%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was −0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.7 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 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 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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