Malaysia: Interest payments (% of expense)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Malaysia's interest payments (% of expense) rose 2.09 percentage points on 2022 (from 12.85% to 14.93%).

Across the 26 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2022), the average change was −0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.99 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.09 percentage points in 2023 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.22 percentage points in 2008. 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 upward, about 0.37 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 72% 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 15.93% for 2026. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2021 to 2023 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.71%, against 1.06% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2023, Malaysia had the 12th highest value of the 78 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 Malaysia in the 2023 ranking

• Togo — 8th of 78: 16.19%
• Mexico — 9th of 78: 15.77%
• Philippines — 10th of 78: 15.31%
• Iceland — 12th of 78: 14.74%
• Fiji — 13th of 78: 14.58%
• Côte d'Ivoire — 14th of 78: 14.14%

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 28 values

Interest payments (% of expense) in nearby economies

• Australia — 2.97% (2022)
• Cambodia — 2.1% (2023)
• Fiji — 14.58% (2023)
• Kiribati — 0.75% (2023)
• Korea, Rep. — 4.43% (2023)
• Lao PDR — 16.99% (2022)
• Marshall Islands — 0.46% (2020)
• Micronesia, Fed. Sts. — 0.6% (2020)
• Mongolia — 6.01% (2021)
• New Zealand — 2.97% (2022)
• Palau — 0.5% (2020)

More public sector data for Malaysia

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 4.93 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 21.13 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.04% (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 7 million (2024)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 4.43% (2025)
• Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) — 0.73 (2023)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 136,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.81% (2020)
• Central government debt, total (current LCU) — 1.25 trillion (2024)
• Central government debt, total (% of GDP)

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 Malaysia's interest payments (% of expense)?

14.93% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1996?

It is up 0.6 percentage points from 14.33% in 1996. The highest value was 15.39% in 2000 and the lowest 8.49% in 2008.

How does Malaysia rank?

12th highest of 78 economies with data for 2023.

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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