Serbia: Interest payments (% of revenue)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Serbia's interest payments (% of revenue) fell 1.08 percentage points on 2021 (from 4.71% to 3.63%).

Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2021), the average change was +0.2 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.79 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 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 1.58 percentage points in 2012 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.08 percentage points in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.37 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 72% 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

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Serbia in the 2022 ranking

• Lao PDR — 2nd of 7: 11.85%
• Ecuador — 3rd of 7: 4.66%
• Equatorial Guinea — 4th of 7: 4.15%
• Australia — 6th of 7: 3.08%
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 7th of 7: 0.51%

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 16 values

Interest payments (% of revenue) in nearby economies

• Albania — 7.42% (2024)
• Armenia — 12.6% (2024)
• Austria — 3.08% (2024)
• Azerbaijan — 0.88% (2024)
• Belarus — 4.15% (2024)
• Belgium — 4.51% (2024)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 2.38% (2024)
• Bulgaria — 1.44% (2024)
• Croatia — 4.2% (2023)
• Cyprus — 2.81% (2024)
• Czechia — 3.48% (2024)

More public sector data for Serbia

• Armed forces personnel, total — 32,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 1.01% (2020)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 288.94 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 2.76% (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 2.78 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 6.44% (2025)
• Intentional homicides, female (per 100,000 female) — 0.65 (2023)
• Intentional homicides, male (per 100,000 male) — 2.05 (2023)
• Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) — 1.31 (2023)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

3.63% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2007?

It is up 1.78 percentage points from 1.86% in 2007. The highest value was 7.53% in 2015 and the lowest 1.45% in 2008.

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

In 2022, Serbia's interest payments (% of revenue) fell 1.08 percentage points on 2021 (from 4.71% to 3.63%). Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2021), the average change was +0.2 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.79 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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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