Small states: Interest payments (% of expense)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Small states' interest payments (% of expense) fell 2.16 percentage points on 2021 (from 4.08% to 1.91%).

Across the 26 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2021), the average change was −0.11 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.55 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 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 4.77 percentage points in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.25 percentage points in 1999. 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 0.3 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 46% 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.

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 percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.

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 29 values

Interest payments (% of expense) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 0.13% (2017)
• Bahrain — 18.91% (2020)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 24.23% (2015)
• Israel — 7.65% (2023)
• Jordan — 16.51% (2023)
• Lebanon — 15.23% (2021)
• Malta — 3.09% (2023)
• Morocco — 7.93% (2023)
• Saudi Arabia — 3.41% (2023)

More public sector data for Small states

• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 12.79% (2022)
• Social contributions (% of revenue) — 21.09% (2019)
• Interest payments (% of revenue) — 1.78% (2022)
• Taxes on goods and services (% of revenue) — 33.44% (2022)
• Taxes on income, profits and capital gains (% of revenue) — 24.12% (2022)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.32% (2025)
• Taxes on international trade (% of revenue) — 1.18% (2019)
• Compensation of employees (% of expense) — 21.87% (2022)
• Goods and services expense (% of expense) — 10.08% (2022)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Small states's interest payments (% of expense)?

1.91% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1991?

It is down 7.57 percentage points from 9.49% in 1991. The highest value was 9.49% in 1991 and the lowest 1.91% in 2022.

Is the latest change in interest payments (% of expense) unusual for Small states?

In 2022, Small states' interest payments (% of expense) fell 2.16 percentage points on 2021 (from 4.08% to 1.91%). Across the 26 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2021), the average change was −0.11 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.55 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 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.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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