Ethiopia vs Nicaragua: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Ethiopia
9.0%
in 2023
Nicaragua
9.2%
in 2023
Ethiopia rank
58th
Nicaragua rank
57th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Ethiopia
- Nicaragua
How they compare
Nicaragua currently reports 9.2% against 9.0% in Ethiopia, a difference of 0.2%.
The two have swapped places 7 times across 33 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Ethiopia ahead.
Ethiopia ranks 58th and Nicaragua ranks 57th of 152 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Ethiopia averaged higher in 1 and Nicaragua in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ethiopia | Nicaragua | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.8% | 13.0% | 1.2% | Nicaragua |
| 2000s | 9.8% | 10.8% | 1.0% | Nicaragua |
| 2010s | 4.1% | 6.5% | 2.4% | Nicaragua |
| 2020s | 7.8% | 7.8% | 0.0% | Ethiopia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Ethiopia or Nicaragua?
- Nicaragua, at 9.2% against 9.0% in Ethiopia as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Ethiopia and Nicaragua?
- 0.2%, with Nicaragua ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ethiopia and Nicaragua?
- 33 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2023.
- How do Ethiopia and Nicaragua rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Ethiopia ranks 58th and Nicaragua ranks 57th 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.