Belgium vs France: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Belgium
3.2%
in 2022
France
3.4%
in 2023
Belgium rank
108th
France rank
105th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Belgium
- France
How they compare
France currently reports 3.4% against 3.2% in Belgium, a difference of 0.2%.
That makes France's figure about 1.1 times Belgium's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 28 shared years of data; in 1995 it was Belgium ahead.
Belgium ranks 108th and France ranks 105th of 152 countries.
Belgium has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Belgium | France | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 16.2% | 6.4% | 9.7% | Belgium |
| 2000s | 10.7% | 5.7% | 5.0% | Belgium |
| 2010s | 6.2% | 4.3% | 2.0% | Belgium |
| 2020s | 3.6% | 2.9% | 0.7% | Belgium |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Belgium or France?
- France, at 3.4% against 3.2% in Belgium as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Belgium and France?
- 0.2%, with France ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Belgium and France?
- 28 years are reported by both, from 1995 to 2022.
- How do Belgium and France rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Belgium ranks 108th and France ranks 105th 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.