Italy: Real interest rate (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Italy's real interest rate (%) fell 0.14 percentage points on 2022 (from -1.15% to -1.29%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −0.43 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.8 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 5.06 percentage points in 1992 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.84 percentage points in 1990. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.55 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 94% 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.

Closest to Italy in the 2023 ranking

• Viet Nam — 1st of 4: 7.01%
• Aruba — 2nd of 4: 2.88%
• San Marino — 4th of 4: -1.6%

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 35 values

Real interest rate (%) in nearby economies

• Albania — 4% (2024)
• Armenia — 9.86% (2025)
• Azerbaijan — 14.68% (2025)
• Belarus — 0.03% (2025)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 1.05% (2025)
• Bulgaria — -2.96% (2025)
• Czechia — 1.12% (2025)
• Georgia — 10.78% (2025)
• Hungary — 1.64% (2025)
• Iceland — 3.87% (2025)
• Kosovo — 5.08% (2018)
• Kyrgyz Republic

More financial sector data for Italy

• Consumer price index (2010 = 100) — 131.87 (2025)
• Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 1.53% (2025)
• GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 115.8 (2025)
• DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$0.88 (2025)
• Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$0.88 (2025)
• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 1.99% (2025)
• Real effective exchange rate index (2010 = 100) — 95.58 (2025)
• S&P Global Equity Indices (annual % change) — 48.59% (2025)
• Inflation, GDP deflator, linked series (annual % growth) — 1.99% (2025)

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Questions people ask

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

-1.29% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1989?

It is down 9.58 percentage points from 8.29% in 1989. The highest value was 11.65% in 1992 and the lowest -1.29% in 2023.

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

In 2023, Italy's real interest rate (%) fell 0.14 percentage points on 2022 (from -1.15% to -1.29%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −0.43 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.8 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above 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.

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