Costa Rica vs Lao People's Democratic Republic: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Costa Rica
16.7%
in 2023
Lao People's Democratic Republic
17.0%
in 2022
Costa Rica rank
19th
Lao People's Democratic Republic rank
18th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Costa Rica
- Lao People's Democratic Republic
How they compare
Lao People's Democratic Republic currently reports 17.0% against 16.7% in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.3%.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 15 shared years of data; in 2008 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 19th and Lao People's Democratic Republic ranks 18th of 152 countries.
Costa Rica has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Lao People's Democratic Republic | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.1% | 5.8% | 3.2% | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 9.8% | 8.4% | 1.5% | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 15.3% | 13.8% | 1.5% | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Costa Rica or Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- Lao People's Democratic Republic, at 17.0% against 16.7% in Costa Rica as of 2022.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Costa Rica and Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- 0.3%, with Lao People's Democratic Republic ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 2008 to 2022.
- How do Costa Rica and Lao People's Democratic Republic rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Costa Rica ranks 19th and Lao People's Democratic Republic ranks 18th 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.