Germany vs Switzerland: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Germany
1.4%
in 2022
Switzerland
1.0%
in 2023
Germany rank
136th
Switzerland rank
139th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Germany
- Switzerland
How they compare
Germany currently reports 1.4% against 1.0% in Switzerland, a difference of 0.4%.
That makes Germany's figure about 1.4 times Switzerland's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 46 shared years of data; in 1972 it was Switzerland ahead.
Germany ranks 136th and Switzerland ranks 139th of 152 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 5 and Switzerland in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | Switzerland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.2% | 2.2% | 0.0% | Switzerland |
| 1980s | 4.4% | 2.6% | 1.9% | Germany |
| 1990s | 6.4% | 4.0% | 2.4% | Germany |
| 2000s | 5.9% | 3.8% | 2.2% | Germany |
| 2010s | 3.3% | 1.8% | 1.5% | Germany |
| 2020s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 0.4% | Germany |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Germany or Switzerland?
- Germany, at 1.4% against 1.0% in Switzerland as of 2022.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Germany and Switzerland?
- 0.4%, with Germany ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Switzerland?
- 46 years are reported by both, from 1972 to 2022.
- How do Germany and Switzerland rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Germany ranks 136th and Switzerland ranks 139th 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.