Ghana vs Sri Lanka: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Ghana
32.8%
in 2022
Sri Lanka
49.4%
in 2023
Ghana rank
2nd
Sri Lanka rank
1st
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Ghana
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
Sri Lanka currently reports 49.4% against 32.8% in Ghana, a difference of 16.6%.
That makes Sri Lanka's figure about 1.5 times Ghana's.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 22 shared years of data; in 2001 it was Ghana ahead.
Ghana ranks 2nd and Sri Lanka ranks 1st of 152 countries.
Sri Lanka has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ghana | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 20.0% | 27.9% | 7.9% | Sri Lanka |
| 2010s | 23.1% | 31.5% | 8.4% | Sri Lanka |
| 2020s | 32.2% | 36.1% | 3.9% | Sri Lanka |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Ghana or Sri Lanka?
- Sri Lanka, at 49.4% against 32.8% in Ghana as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Ghana and Sri Lanka?
- 16.6%, with Sri Lanka ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ghana and Sri Lanka?
- 22 years are reported by both, from 2001 to 2022.
- How do Ghana and Sri Lanka rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Ghana ranks 2nd and Sri Lanka ranks 1st 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.