Lebanon: Lending interest rate (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2019, Lebanon's lending interest rate (%) rose 1.42 percentage points on 2018 (from 9.1% to 10.51%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2018), the average change was −0.41 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.15 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 14.33 percentage points in 1987 and the biggest yearly fall was 11.68 percentage points in 1993. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2010 to 2019 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.23 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 44% 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 Lebanon in the 2019 ranking

• Tajikistan — 1st of 5: 23.55%
• Sri Lanka — 2nd of 5: 11.24%
• Philippines — 4th of 5: 7.1%
• Australia — 5th of 5: 5.1%

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 37 values

Lending interest rate (%) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 14.84% (2017)
• Algeria — 8% (2025)
• Bahrain — 5.16% (2015)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 24.29% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 18% (2016)
• Iraq — 12.29% (2015)
• Israel — 2.96% (2022)
• Jordan — 8.1% (2025)
• Kuwait — 5.03% (2025)
• Oman — 5.5% (2021)
• Pakistan — 8.67% (2021)
• Qatar

More financial sector data for Lebanon

• Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$89,500 (2025)
• Net foreign assets (current LCU) — 51.57 trillion (2017)
• Claims on central government (annual growth as % of broad money) — -21.28% (2018)
• Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 160.19 trillion (2017)
• Broad money (current LCU) — 208.34 trillion (2017)
• Claims on private sector (annual growth as % of broad money) — 2.5% (2017)
• Broad money (annual % growth) — 4.21% (2017)
• DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$89,500 (2025)
• Deposit interest rate (%) — 9.7% (2019)
• Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Lebanon's lending interest rate (%)?

10.51% in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1982?

It is down 6.32 percentage points from 16.83% in 1982. The highest value was 44.46% in 1988 and the lowest 7.09% in 2015.

Is the latest change in lending interest rate (%) unusual for Lebanon?

In 2019, Lebanon's lending interest rate (%) rose 1.42 percentage points on 2018 (from 9.1% to 10.51%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2018), the average change was −0.41 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.15 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).

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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