São Tomé and Principe: Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, São Tomé and Principe's interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) rose 0.15 percentage points on 2024 (from 15.23% to 15.38%).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2024), the average change was −0.29 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.18 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above 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 2.16 percentage points in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.17 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 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 11% 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 2025, São Tomé and Principe had the 6th highest value of the 72 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 São Tomé and Principe in the 2025 ranking

• Zimbabwe — 2nd of 72: 40.12%
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 3rd of 72: 16.21%
• Gambia, The — 4th of 72: 15.5%
• Sierra Leone — 6th of 72: 14.4%
• South Sudan — 7th of 72: 14.21%
• Mozambique — 8th of 72: 11.76%

What this measures

Interest rate spread is the interest rate charged by banks on loans to private sector customers minus the interest rate paid by commercial or similar banks for demand, time, or savings deposits. 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.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 25 values

Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) in nearby economies

• Angola — 11.39% (2025)
• Benin — 0.95% (2021)
• Botswana — 3.91% (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 0.95% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 6.21% (2025)
• Comoros — 5.97% (2022)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 16.21% (2025)
• Côte d'Ivoire — -1.63% (2016)
• Eswatini — 6.97% (2024)

More financial sector data for São Tomé and Principe

• DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$21.69 (2025)
• Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$21.75 (2025)
• GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 497.42 (2025)
• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 11.94% (2025)
• Inflation, GDP deflator, linked series (annual % growth) — 11.94% (2025)
• GDP deflator, linked series (base year varies by country) — 497.42 (2025)
• Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 6.68% (2025)
• Broad money (current LCU) — 4.55 billion (2025)
• Broad money (% of GDP)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is São Tomé and Principe's interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %)?

15.38% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2001?

It is down 6.62 percentage points from 22% in 2001. The highest value was 22.42% in 2002 and the lowest 13.28% in 2012.

How does São Tomé and Principe rank?

6th highest of 72 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) unusual for São Tomé and Principe?

In 2025, São Tomé and Principe's interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) rose 0.15 percentage points on 2024 (from 15.23% to 15.38%). Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2024), the average change was −0.29 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.18 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above 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.LNDP, 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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