Colombia vs El Salvador: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Colombia
13.2%
in 2023
El Salvador
14.1%
in 2023
Colombia rank
37th
El Salvador rank
34th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Colombia
- El Salvador
How they compare
El Salvador currently reports 14.1% against 13.2% in Colombia, a difference of 0.9%.
That makes El Salvador's figure about 1.1 times Colombia's.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 20 shared years of data; in 1998 it was Colombia ahead.
Colombia ranks 37th and El Salvador ranks 34th of 152 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Colombia averaged higher in 3 and El Salvador in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Colombia | El Salvador | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.6% | 9.4% | 6.2% | Colombia |
| 2000s | 15.5% | 10.2% | 5.3% | Colombia |
| 2010s | 9.7% | 10.9% | 1.2% | El Salvador |
| 2020s | 11.6% | 11.5% | 0.1% | Colombia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Colombia or El Salvador?
- El Salvador, at 14.1% against 13.2% in Colombia as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Colombia and El Salvador?
- 0.9%, with El Salvador ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Colombia and El Salvador?
- 20 years are reported by both, from 1998 to 2023.
- How do Colombia and El Salvador rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Colombia ranks 37th and El Salvador ranks 34th 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.