Mauritius's interest payments (% of expense) was 8.41% in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 0.62 percentage points from 7.8% in 2013.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 8.41% | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 7.27% | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 7.8% | 2013 |
| Highest | 23.37% | 1985 |
| Lowest | 4.71% | 1975 |
| Average since 2014 | 7.93% | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | 11.07% | 1973 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Mauritius' interest payments (% of expense) rose 1.51 percentage points on 2022 (from 6.9% to 8.41%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −0.28 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.45 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 5.86 percentage points in 1980 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.26 percentage points in 1974. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 27% 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.
How it compares
In 2023, Mauritius had the 30th 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Mauritius | 8.41% | 2023 |
| World | 5.77% | 2022 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 10.17% | 2021 |
| Upper middle income | 8.76% | 2023 |
Closest to Mauritius in the 2023 ranking
- Ethiopia — 26th of 78: 9.03%
- Paraguay — 27th of 78: 8.76%
- Kazakhstan — 28th of 78: 8.68%
- Morocco — 30th of 78: 7.93%
- Albania — 31st of 78: 7.84%
- United Kingdom — 32nd of 78: 7.77%
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 51 values
| Year | Interest payments (% of expense) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 8.41 |
| 2022 | 6.9 |
| 2021 | 6.33 |
| 2020 | 7.19 |
| 2019 | 7.96 |
| 2018 | 7.27 |
| 2017 | 7.51 |
| 2016 | 9.81 |
| 2015 | 10.16 |
| 2014 | 7.8 |
| 2013 |
Interest payments (% of expense) in nearby economies
- Angola — 31.91% (2019)
- Botswana — 4.04% (2023)
- Burkina Faso — 11.93% (2023)
- Burundi — 3.33% (2021)
- Cabo Verde — 8.76% (2020)
- Cameroon — 7.79% (2021)
- Central African Republic — 5.17% (2021)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 0.68% (2022)
- Congo, Rep. — 11.51% (2021)
- Côte d'Ivoire — 14.14% (2023)
- Equatorial Guinea
More public sector data for Mauritius
- Military expenditure (current USD) — 23.84 million (2025)
- Military expenditure (current LCU) — 1.09 billion (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 0.15% (2025)
- Net incurrence of liabilities, total (current LCU) — 36.29 billion (2024)
- Net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP) — 5.23% (2024)
- Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 9.29 billion (2024)
- Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 1.34% (2024)
- Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) — -56.16 billion (2024)
- Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -8.1% (2024)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Mauritius's interest payments (% of expense)?
- 8.41% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1973?
- It is down 2.66 percentage points from 11.07% in 1973. The highest value was 23.37% in 1985 and the lowest 4.71% in 1975.
- How does Mauritius rank?
- 30th highest of 78 economies with data for 2023.
- Is the latest change in interest payments (% of expense) unusual for Mauritius?
- In 2023, Mauritius' interest payments (% of expense) rose 1.51 percentage points on 2022 (from 6.9% to 8.41%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −0.28 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.45 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
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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