El Salvador vs Panama: Share of government spending going to interest payments
El Salvador
14.1%
in 2023
Panama
13.4%
in 2021
El Salvador rank
34th
Panama rank
35th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- El Salvador
- Panama
How they compare
El Salvador currently reports 14.1% against 13.4% in Panama, a difference of 0.7%.
That makes El Salvador's figure about 1.1 times Panama's.
Across all 8 years both countries report, Panama has been ahead every year.
El Salvador ranks 34th and Panama ranks 35th of 152 countries.
Panama has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | El Salvador | Panama | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 11.2% | 12.7% | 1.5% | Panama |
| 2020s | 10.0% | 13.1% | 3.1% | Panama |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, El Salvador or Panama?
- El Salvador, at 14.1% against 13.4% in Panama as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between El Salvador and Panama?
- 0.7%, with El Salvador ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for El Salvador and Panama?
- 8 years are reported by both, from 2014 to 2021.
- How do El Salvador and Panama rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- El Salvador ranks 34th and Panama ranks 35th 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.