Bahamas vs Costa Rica: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Bahamas
18.4%
in 2023
Costa Rica
16.7%
in 2023
Bahamas rank
16th
Costa Rica rank
19th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Bahamas
- Costa Rica
How they compare
Bahamas currently reports 18.4% against 16.7% in Costa Rica, a difference of 1.7%.
That makes Bahamas's figure about 1.1 times Costa Rica's.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 34 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Bahamas ranks 16th and Costa Rica ranks 19th of 152 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Bahamas averaged higher in 2 and Costa Rica in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Bahamas | Costa Rica | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 13.2% | 16.6% | 3.4% | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 10.8% | 15.8% | 5.0% | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 12.3% | 9.8% | 2.5% | Bahamas |
| 2020s | 15.8% | 15.6% | 0.2% | Bahamas |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Bahamas or Costa Rica?
- Bahamas, at 18.4% against 16.7% in Costa Rica as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Bahamas and Costa Rica?
- 1.7%, with Bahamas ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Bahamas and Costa Rica?
- 34 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2023.
- How do Bahamas and Costa Rica rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Bahamas ranks 16th and Costa Rica ranks 19th 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.