Singapore: Interest payments (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Singapore's interest payments (current LCU) rose 24.4% on 2023 (from 516.73 million to 642.91 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +2,513.1% and a typical year strayed about 13,837.9% 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 75,779.5% in 2019 and the biggest yearly fall was 84% in 2010. 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 77.27 million a year. A straight line explains 83% 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 787.76 million for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 126.15 million, against 194.1 million for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2024, Singapore had the 73rd 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 Singapore in the 2024 ranking

• Tajikistan — 70th of 86: 1.04 billion
• Slovenia — 71st of 86: 839.34 million
• Lesotho — 72nd of 86: 820.9 million
• Bahamas, The — 74th of 86: 613.16 million
• Lithuania — 75th of 86: 538.8 million
• Fiji — 76th of 86: 527.5 million

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 in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

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).

All 53 values

Interest payments (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Australia — 19.17 billion (2022)
• Cambodia — 473.14 billion (2023)
• China — 590.85 billion (2021)
• Fiji — 527.5 million (2024)
• Kiribati — 2.77 million (2023)
• Korea, Rep. — 35.54 trillion (2024)
• Lao PDR — 3.81 trillion (2022)
• Malaysia — 50.48 billion (2024)
• Marshall Islands — 664,000 (2020)
• Micronesia, Fed. Sts. — 523,714 (2020)
• Mongolia — 1.17 trillion (2024)

More public sector data for Singapore

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 57 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 17.44 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 22.79 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 3.05% (2025)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (current LCU) — 66.75 billion (2024)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP) — 8.72% (2024)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 31.9 billion (2024)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 23.51% (2024)
• Revenue, excluding grants (current LCU) — 135.7 billion (2024)
• Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Singapore's interest payments (current LCU)?

642.91 million in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1972?

It is up 542.91% from 100 million in 1972 (3.64% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 3.8 billion in 1987 and the lowest 591,000 in 2018.

How does Singapore rank?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.INTP.CN, 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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