Australia vs New Zealand: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Australia
3.0%
in 2022
New Zealand
3.0%
in 2022
Australia rank
113th
New Zealand rank
114th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Australia
- New Zealand
How they compare
Australia currently reports 3.0% against 3.0% in New Zealand, a difference of 0.0%.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 39 shared years of data; in 1972 it was New Zealand ahead.
Australia ranks 113th and New Zealand ranks 114th of 152 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 1 and New Zealand in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | New Zealand | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.5% | 9.0% | 2.5% | New Zealand |
| 1980s | 8.4% | 15.3% | 6.8% | New Zealand |
| 2000s | 2.1% | 4.6% | 2.6% | New Zealand |
| 2010s | 3.2% | 4.2% | 0.9% | New Zealand |
| 2020s | 2.8% | 2.8% | 0.0% | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Australia or New Zealand?
- Australia, at 3.0% against 3.0% in New Zealand as of 2022.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Australia and New Zealand?
- 0.0%, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and New Zealand?
- 39 years are reported by both, from 1972 to 2022.
- How do Australia and New Zealand rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Australia ranks 113th and New Zealand ranks 114th of 152 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Share of government spending going to interest payments. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Interest expenditures on government debt, as share of total central government expenditures. Interest expenditures on government debt include payments on long-term bonds, long-term loans, and other debt instruments.