World Bank Group · Interest Payments on External Debt
Interest on external debt by country
How much of its national income does a country pay foreign creditors in interest?
Of the 112 countries compared in 2024, Iran had the lowest reading, 0.069%, and Mozambique had the highest reading, 17.920%. In the middle country the figure was 1.451%. Among the 81 countries measured in every edition since 1981, the middle one moved from 2.029% to 1.329%.
Interest on external debt · 2024
Context statistic
Lowest of 112Iran
0.069%012024 · position · derived
Who leads
The three countries at the lowest end of 112 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: User:Gire 3pich2005 , derived: User:Nastoshka · CC0, greyscale
2Photo: Santiagockn · CC0, greyscale
3
Highest in 2024
Mozambique17.920%
Mongolia12.633%
Angola5.825%
Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
02Every measured country
Interest on external debt on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a lower value — the better end.
- 2.826–17.920%
- 1.671–2.814%
- 1.110–1.632%
- 0.556–1.096%
- 0.069–0.493%
- No reading in 2024 (8 measured in an earlier edition)
- Oceania
0.977%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 21 members
Solomon Islands0.384%
Fiji2.980%Lowest and highest reading in Oceania.
- Africa
1.071%
the middle country, of 48 measured · 55 members
Somalia0.104%Mozambique17.920%Lowest and highest reading in Africa.
- Asia
1.339%
the middle country, of 28 measured · 52 members
Iran0.069%Mongolia12.633%Lowest and highest reading in Asia.
- Americas
1.978%
the middle country, of 22 measured · 48 members
Haiti0.100%
Jamaica5.207%Lowest and highest reading in Americas.
- Europe
2.060%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 49 members
Kosovo0.396%
Montenegro4.824%Lowest and highest reading in Europe.
- Every region
17 sub-regions, lowest middle country first
- Middle Africa
0.493%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Chad0.257%Angola5.825%Lowest and highest reading in Middle Africa.
- Southern Asia
0.904%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Iran0.069%
Maldives3.143%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Asia.
- Eastern Africa
1.173%
the middle country, of 14 measured · 19 members
Somalia0.104%Mozambique17.920%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Africa.
- South-eastern Asia
1.237%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 11 members
Myanmar0.265%
Laos4.890%Lowest and highest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Western Africa
1.243%
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Mali0.323%
Senegal5.602%Lowest and highest reading in Western Africa.
- Northern Africa
1.579%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 6 members
Algeria0.105%
Tunisia3.341%Lowest and highest reading in Northern Africa.
- Central America
1.769%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 8 members
Guatemala1.317%
El Salvador4.557%Lowest and highest reading in Central America.
- Southern Europe
2.017%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 17 members
Kosovo0.396%Montenegro4.824%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Europe.
- South America
2.050%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 12 members
Guyana0.978%
Suriname4.426%Lowest and highest reading in South America.
- Caribbean
2.408%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 24 members
Haiti0.100%Jamaica5.207%Lowest and highest reading in Caribbean.
- Western Asia
2.418%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 19 members
Iraq0.256%
Jordan4.851%Lowest and highest reading in Western Asia.
- Central Asia
2.951%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Turkmenistan0.315%
Kazakhstan3.566%Lowest and highest reading in Central Asia.
- Eastern Asia
2 of 8 measured — too few for a middle: China, Mongolia.
China0.671%Mongolia12.633%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Eastern Europe
3 of 10 measured — too few for a middle: Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine.
Moldova1.854%
Belarus2.826%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Melanesia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.
Solomon Islands0.384%Fiji2.980%Lowest and highest reading in Melanesia.
- Polynesia
1 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Samoa.
Samoa0.586%Lowest and highest reading in Polynesia.
- Southern Africa
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, South Africa.
Botswana0.644%
South Africa2.080%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Africa.
03The whole field at once
The spread
112 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 1.451%; a quarter are above 2.464%, and a quarter below 0.713%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 120 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first — position 1 is the highest value, the way World Bank Group’s own tables read. “=” marks a position shared with another country. World Bank Group ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. This is not a world table: International Debt Statistics covers low- and middle-income borrowers, so high-income countries are missing by design. A very low figure can mean little debt — or a country too poor to borrow on commercial terms.
Showing 25 of 120 countries
Values for 2024. The change column compares 2024 with 2023 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
051981–2024 · 44 reference years
Over time
Each point is one year from 1981, all restated in the World Bank's latest debt release. A rise can mean more borrowing, dearer borrowing, or a shrinking national income.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 81 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 112 | 1.451% | 0.713% – 2.464% | 1.329% |
| 2023 | 117 | 1.464% | 0.635% – 2.375% | 1.320% |
| 2022 | 118 | 1.116% | 0.471% – 1.742% | 1.044% |
| 2021 | 118 | 0.907% | 0.348% – 1.654% | 0.777% |
| 2020 | 118 | 1.074% | 0.481% – 1.962% | 0.911% |
| 2019 | 118 | 1.093% | 0.523% – 2.138% | 1.020% |
| 2018 | 118 | 1.026% | 0.439% – 2.011% | 0.904% |
| 2017 | 118 | 0.891% | 0.414% – 1.843% | 0.787% |
| 2016 | 118 | 0.884% | 0.384% – 1.780% | 0.694% |
| 2015 | 118 | 0.792% | 0.325% – 1.541% | 0.637% |
| 2014 | 116 | 0.686% | 0.287% – 1.300% | 0.536% |
| 2013 | 116 | 0.731% | 0.225% – 1.166% | 0.475% |
| 2012 | 116 | 0.631% | 0.233% – 1.156% | 0.510% |
| 2011 | 116 | 0.557% | 0.250% – 1.157% | 0.498% |
| 2010 | 116 | 0.539% | 0.220% – 1.001% | 0.442% |
| 2009 | 116 | 0.634% | 0.252% – 1.243% | 0.520% |
| 2008 | 116 | 0.615% | 0.317% – 1.318% | 0.546% |
| 2007 | 113 | 0.740% | 0.403% – 1.587% | 0.667% |
| 2006 | 113 | 0.704% | 0.412% – 1.327% | 0.648% |
| 2005 | 111 | 0.758% | 0.425% – 1.495% | 0.739% |
| 2004 | 111 | 0.871% | 0.507% – 1.653% | 0.859% |
| 2003 | 111 | 0.969% | 0.443% – 1.702% | 0.943% |
| 2002 | 111 | 1.025% | 0.476% – 2.086% | 0.994% |
| 2001 | 111 | 1.032% | 0.569% – 2.120% | 1.032% |
| 2000 | 111 | 1.133% | 0.672% – 2.575% | 1.142% |
| 1999 | 111 | 1.217% | 0.699% – 2.378% | 1.204% |
| 1998 | 110 | 1.125% | 0.650% – 2.099% | 1.233% |
| 1997 | 110 | 1.116% | 0.608% – 2.228% | 1.301% |
| 1996 | 108 | 1.110% | 0.637% – 2.152% | 1.288% |
| 1995 | 108 | 1.064% | 0.662% – 2.129% | 1.355% |
| 1994 | 107 | 1.048% | 0.618% – 2.113% | 1.285% |
| 1993 | 106 | 1.058% | 0.445% – 2.228% | 1.294% |
| 1992 | 97 | 1.124% | 0.645% – 2.400% | 1.248% |
| 1991 | 94 | 1.199% | 0.736% – 2.418% | 1.464% |
| 1990 | 91 | 1.447% | 0.826% – 2.540% | 1.607% |
| 1989 | 89 | 1.607% | 0.920% – 2.942% | 1.721% |
| 1988 | 86 | 1.890% | 0.876% – 3.271% | 2.235% |
| 1987 | 86 | 2.005% | 0.883% – 3.009% | 2.205% |
| 1986 | 86 | 2.208% | 0.864% – 3.498% | 2.385% |
| 1985 | 85 | 2.363% | 1.030% – 3.691% | 2.438% |
| 1984 | 84 | 2.351% | 1.088% – 3.742% | 2.359% |
| 1983 | 83 | 2.167% | 0.870% – 3.493% | 2.209% |
| 1982 | 83 | 2.006% | 0.722% – 3.803% | 2.184% |
| 1981 | 83 | 1.723% | 0.586% – 3.643% | 2.029% |
062023 → 2024
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after
Gabon3.504% → 1.846% · 14th → 43rd−1.658- Mozambique19.156% → 17.920% · 1st → 1st−1.236
Bosnia and Herzegovina2.018% → 1.362% · 39th → 60th−0.657- Montenegro5.429% → 4.824% · 5th → 8th−0.605
Armenia3.382% → 2.814% · 16th → 24th−0.568
112 countries were measured in both 2023 and 2024. The field changed from 117 to 112 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
Interest on external debt in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
41.623%
Interest payments on external debt (% of GNI)
Lowest reading on record
0.000%
Interest payments on external debt (% of GNI)
Biggest improvement between editions
−33.383
34.809% → 1.426%
Biggest decline between editions
+31.175
0.141% → 31.316%
Most improved since first measured
−8.417
10.462% → 2.045%
At the top most often
25 of 44
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About interest on external debt
This is what a country pays its foreign creditors in interest each year, as a share of its national income. Where external debt stocks show how much is owed, this shows what the debt costs — money that leaves the country before any of it is repaid.
What the number is: Interest payments on external debt (% of GNI).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Economy & Innovation and Money & Public Finance, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Economy & InnovationMoney & Public FinanceWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where interest on external debt is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- External Debt Stocks (% of GNI)World Bank Group · 110 countries in commonρ 0.77
- Debt Service on External DebtWorld Bank Group · 103 countries in commonρ 0.62
- Statistical Performance IndicatorsKeyWorld Bank Group · 111 countries in commonρ 0.53
Moves against
Where interest on external debt is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Social Institutions and Gender IndexKeyOECD · 87 countries in commonρ −0.55
- Gender Inequality IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 105 countries in commonρ −0.49
- Climate Vulnerability (ND-GAIN)KeyNotre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 111 countries in commonρ −0.46
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 258 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
More from World Bank Group
11Questions
Interest on external debt: questions and answers
Which country has the lowest interest on external debt?
Iran, at 0.069%, among the 112 countries compared in 2024.
Which country has the highest interest on external debt?
Mozambique, at 17.920%, among the 112 countries compared in 2024.
How many countries does the Interest Payments on External Debt cover?
112 in 2024, and 120 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 83 to 118 between editions.
What is the world average interest on external debt?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 112 compared in 2024, the figure was 1.451%.
Is this World Bank Group’s own ranking?
No. World Bank Group publishes the values but ranks nobody; the position on this page is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values, and equal values share a position.
How often is the Interest Payments on External Debt published?
This site holds 44 reference years, 1981–2024, all recalculated in World Bank Group’s 2025 report on one method — not 44 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From World Bank Group, under CC BY 4.0. The World Bank's International Debt Statistics (DT.INT.DECT.GN.ZS), read from the debt database itself because the series is not in the World Development Indicators. Years before 1981 cover too few countries and are not imported. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Interest Payments on External Debt — World Bank Group
The World Bank's International Debt Statistics (DT.INT.DECT.GN.ZS), read from the debt database itself because the series is not in the World Development Indicators. Years before 1981 cover too few countries and are not imported.
Newest edition
Report year 2024Data year 2024
Cite the source as: World Bank. International Debt Statistics. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-09-29.
How this page reads the numbers
- World Bank Group ranks nobody on this measure. The position is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values; equal values share a position.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Iran — User:Gire 3pich2005 , derived: User:Nastoshka, CC0
- Haiti — Santiagockn, CC0
- Somalia — AMISOM, CC0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Interest on external debt by country: Interest Payments on External Debt, data from World Bank Group. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/external-debt-interest