Malawi vs Zambia: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Malawi
26.3%
in 2022
Zambia
26.5%
in 2021
Malawi rank
5th
Zambia rank
4th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Malawi
- Zambia
How they compare
Zambia currently reports 26.5% against 26.3% in Malawi, a difference of 0.2%.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 13 shared years of data; in 2009 it was Zambia ahead.
Malawi ranks 5th and Zambia ranks 4th of 152 countries.
Zambia has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malawi | Zambia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.0% | 9.4% | 0.4% | Zambia |
| 2010s | 14.8% | 18.6% | 3.9% | Zambia |
| 2020s | 19.2% | 29.5% | 10.4% | Zambia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Malawi or Zambia?
- Zambia, at 26.5% against 26.3% in Malawi as of 2021.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Malawi and Zambia?
- 0.2%, with Zambia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and Zambia?
- 13 years are reported by both, from 2009 to 2021.
- How do Malawi and Zambia rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Malawi ranks 5th and Zambia ranks 4th 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.