St. Lucia: Interest payments (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, St. Lucia's interest payments (current LCU) rose 2.3% on 2016 (from 149.29 million to 152.7 million).

Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2016), the average change was +11.6% and a typical year strayed about 11.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 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 46.6% in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.3% in 2008. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 the straight-line trend is upward, about 9.18 million a year. A straight line explains 94% 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.

Closest to St. Lucia in the 2017 ranking

• Afghanistan — 1st of 4: 676.62 million
• Belize — 3rd of 4: 104.67 million
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 4th of 4: 49.74 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 18 values

Interest payments (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 8.35 trillion (2024)
• Bahamas, The — 613.16 million (2024)
• Barbados — 736.15 million (2016)
• Belize — 104.67 million (2017)
• Brazil — 937.68 billion (2024)
• Chile — 3.55 trillion (2024)
• Colombia — 70.16 trillion (2024)
• Costa Rica — 2.37 trillion (2024)
• Dominican Republic — 250.73 billion (2024)
• Ecuador — 1.68 billion (2022)
• El Salvador

More public sector data for St. Lucia

• Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) — 39.04 (2023)
• Intentional homicides, male (per 100,000 male) — 68.85 (2023)
• Intentional homicides, female (per 100,000 female) — 9.92 (2023)
• CPIA business regulatory environment rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3.5 (2025)
• CPIA debt policy rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3 (2025)
• CPIA economic management cluster average (1=low to 6=high) — 3.67 (2025)
• CPIA policy and institutions for environmental sustainability rating (1=low to 6=high) — 4 (2025)
• CPIA quality of budgetary and financial management rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3 (2025)

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 St. Lucia's interest payments (current LCU)?

152.7 million in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 449.16% from 27.81 million in 2000 (10.54% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 152.7 million in 2017 and the lowest 27.81 million in 2000.

Is the latest change in interest payments (current LCU) unusual for St. Lucia?

In 2017, St. Lucia's interest payments (current LCU) rose 2.3% on 2016 (from 149.29 million to 152.7 million). Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2016), the average change was +11.6% and a typical year strayed about 11.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

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.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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.