Bulgaria vs Sweden: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Bulgaria
1.3%
in 2023
Sweden
1.4%
in 2022
Bulgaria rank
137th
Sweden rank
135th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Bulgaria
- Sweden
How they compare
Sweden currently reports 1.4% against 1.3% in Bulgaria, a difference of 0.1%.
That makes Sweden's figure about 1.1 times Bulgaria's.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 33 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Sweden ahead.
Bulgaria ranks 137th and Sweden ranks 135th of 152 countries.
Bulgaria has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Bulgaria | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 23.0% | 10.9% | 12.1% | Bulgaria |
| 2000s | 5.9% | 5.5% | 0.4% | Bulgaria |
| 2010s | 2.2% | 1.8% | 0.4% | Bulgaria |
| 2020s | 1.2% | 0.9% | 0.3% | Bulgaria |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Bulgaria or Sweden?
- Sweden, at 1.4% against 1.3% in Bulgaria as of 2022.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Bulgaria and Sweden?
- 0.1%, with Sweden ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Bulgaria and Sweden?
- 33 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2022.
- How do Bulgaria and Sweden rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Bulgaria ranks 137th and Sweden ranks 135th 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.