Pakistan's real interest rate (%) was -1.45% in 2021, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 0.26 percentage points from -1.71% in 2011.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | -1.45% | 2021 |
| Five years earlier | 7.76% | 2016 |
| Ten years earlier | -1.71% | 2011 |
| Highest | 7.76% | 2016 |
| Lowest | -1.71% | 2011 |
| Average since 2012 | 3.58% | 2012–2021 |
| First recorded | 0.00574% | 2004 |
What the numbers say
In 2021, Pakistan's real interest rate (%) fell 2.19 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.74% to -1.45%).
Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2020), the average change was +0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.63 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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 4.99 percentage points in 2012 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.83 percentage points in 2011. 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 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.49 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 34% 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 2021, Pakistan had the 8th 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
- Paraguay — 5th of 11: 3.76%
- Mongolia — 6th of 11: 1.39%
- United States — 7th of 11: -1.26%
- West Bank and Gaza — 9th of 11: -3.12%
- Singapore — 10th of 11: -5.21%
- Oman — 11th of 11: -5.92%
What this measures
An interest rate is the amount charged, expressed as a percentage of the principal over a period of time, by the owners of certain kinds of financial assets for putting the financial assets at the disposal of another institutional unit. The real interest rate is the lending interest rate adjusted for inflation as measured by the GDP deflator. The terms and conditions attached to lending rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability. This indicator is expressed as a percentage (a÷b)*100.
All 18 values
| Year | Real interest rate (%) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | -1.45 |
| 2020 | 0.7397 |
| 2019 | 2.93 |
| 2018 | 4.52 |
| 2017 | 4.02 |
| 2016 | 7.76 |
| 2015 | 5.47 |
| 2014 | 4.22 |
| 2013 | 4.29 |
| 2012 | 3.28 |
| 2011 |
Real interest rate (%) in nearby economies
- Afghanistan — 12.14% (2017)
- Algeria — 7.16% (2025)
- Bahrain — 15.25% (2015)
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — -7.03% (2024)
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — 3.45% (2016)
- Iraq — 57.63% (2015)
- Israel — -1.81% (2022)
- Jordan — 5.75% (2025)
- Kuwait — 10.52% (2025)
- Lebanon — 6.17% (2019)
- Oman — -5.92% (2021)
- Qatar — 8.16% (2025)
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
Questions people ask
- What is Pakistan's real interest rate (%)?
- -1.45% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2004?
- It is down 1.46 percentage points from 0.00574% in 2004. The highest value was 7.76% in 2016 and the lowest -1.71% in 2011.
- How does Pakistan rank?
- 8th highest of 11 economies with data for 2021.
- Is the latest change in real interest rate (%) unusual for Pakistan?
- In 2021, Pakistan's real interest rate (%) fell 2.19 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.74% to -1.45%). Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2020), the average change was +0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.63 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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 FR.INR.RINR, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators, World Bank (WB) 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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