Lebanon vs Malaysia: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Lebanon
15.2%
in 2021
Malaysia
14.9%
in 2023
Lebanon rank
26th
Malaysia rank
27th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Lebanon
- Malaysia
How they compare
Lebanon currently reports 15.2% against 14.9% in Malaysia, a difference of 0.3%.
Across all 24 years both countries report, Lebanon has been ahead every year.
Lebanon ranks 26th and Malaysia ranks 27th of 152 countries.
Lebanon has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Lebanon | Malaysia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 49.1% | 14.4% | 34.7% | Lebanon |
| 2000s | 45.1% | 12.3% | 32.8% | Lebanon |
| 2010s | 34.9% | 11.3% | 23.6% | Lebanon |
| 2020s | 16.0% | 13.7% | 2.3% | Lebanon |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Lebanon or Malaysia?
- Lebanon, at 15.2% against 14.9% in Malaysia as of 2021.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Lebanon and Malaysia?
- 0.3%, with Lebanon ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Lebanon and Malaysia?
- 24 years are reported by both, from 1998 to 2021.
- How do Lebanon and Malaysia rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Lebanon ranks 26th and Malaysia ranks 27th 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.