Pakistan: Lending interest rate (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Pakistan's lending interest rate (%) fell 2.09 percentage points on 2020 (from 10.76% to 8.67%).

Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2020), the average change was +0.22 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.53 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations below 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 3.7 percentage points in 2019 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.09 percentage points in 2021. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 29% 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 2021, Pakistan had the 4th highest value of the 11 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 Pakistan in the 2021 ranking

• Mongolia — 1st of 11: 16.01%
• Micronesia, Fed. Sts. — 2nd of 11: 12.62%
• Paraguay — 3rd of 11: 12.51%
• Benin — 5th of 11: 6.25%
• Burkina Faso — 6th of 11: 6.25%
• West Bank and Gaza — 7th of 11: 5.56%

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 18 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)
• Lebanon — 10.51% (2019)
• Oman — 5.5% (2021)
• Qatar

More financial sector data for Pakistan

• Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 10.68% (2025)
• Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 55.96 trillion (2025)
• Net foreign assets (current LCU) — -249.12 billion (2025)
• Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 10.73% (2025)
• Broad money (current LCU) — 46.53 trillion (2025)
• Broad money (% of GDP) — 40.88% (2025)
• Broad money to total reserves ratio — 6.29 (2025)
• Consumer price index (2010 = 100) — 400.52 (2025)
• Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 3.55% (2025)
• Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

8.67% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2004?

It is up 1.41 percentage points from 7.26% in 2004. The highest value was 14.54% in 2009 and the lowest 7.26% in 2004.

How does Pakistan rank?

4th highest of 11 economies with data for 2021.

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

In 2021, Pakistan's lending interest rate (%) fell 2.09 percentage points on 2020 (from 10.76% to 8.67%). Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2020), the average change was +0.22 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.53 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations below 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 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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