Namibia: Interest payments (% of revenue)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Namibia's interest payments (% of revenue) rose 0.24 percentage points on 2023 (from 14.48% to 14.72%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.41 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.12 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below 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 3.77 percentage points in 2016 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.69 percentage points in 2006. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.99 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 89% 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 2024, Namibia had the 16th highest value of the 86 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 Namibia in the 2024 ranking

• Costa Rica — 13th of 86: 16.61%
• Malaysia — 14th of 86: 15.55%
• Mozambique — 15th of 86: 15.11%
• Tanzania — 17th of 86: 14.38%
• El Salvador — 18th of 86: 14.32%
• Papua New Guinea — 19th of 86: 14.18%

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 a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.

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 35 values

Interest payments (% of revenue) in nearby economies

• Angola — 25.19% (2024)
• Botswana — 3.43% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 9.67% (2024)
• Burundi — 2.36% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 10.87% (2020)
• Cameroon — 6.82% (2021)
• Central African Republic — 4.21% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 0.51% (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 9.05% (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 18.05% (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea

More public sector data for Namibia

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 410.52 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 7.34 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 2.77% (2025)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 3.68 billion (2024)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 4.14% (2024)
• Revenue, excluding grants (current LCU) — 88.9 billion (2024)
• Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) — 35.56% (2024)
• Taxes on international trade (current LCU) — 29.08 billion (2024)
• Taxes on international trade (% of revenue) — 32.72% (2024)
• Tax revenue (current LCU)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Namibia's interest payments (% of revenue)?

14.72% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 13.38 percentage points from 1.34% in 1990. The highest value was 14.72% in 2024 and the lowest 0.74% in 1992.

How does Namibia rank?

16th highest of 86 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in interest payments (% of revenue) unusual for Namibia?

In 2024, Namibia's interest payments (% of revenue) rose 0.24 percentage points on 2023 (from 14.48% to 14.72%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.41 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.12 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below 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.RV.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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