Malaysia vs Mexico: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Malaysia
14.9%
in 2023
Mexico
15.8%
in 2023
Malaysia rank
27th
Mexico rank
24th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Malaysia
- Mexico
How they compare
Mexico currently reports 15.8% against 14.9% in Malaysia, a difference of 0.9%.
That makes Mexico's figure about 1.1 times Malaysia's.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 20 shared years of data; in 1996 it was Mexico ahead.
Malaysia ranks 27th and Mexico ranks 24th of 152 countries.
Mexico has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malaysia | Mexico | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 14.1% | 16.7% | 2.6% | Mexico |
| 2000s | 12.3% | 12.4% | 0.1% | Mexico |
| 2010s | 11.3% | 11.3% | 0.1% | Mexico |
| 2020s | 13.8% | 14.5% | 0.7% | Mexico |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Malaysia or Mexico?
- Mexico, at 15.8% against 14.9% in Malaysia as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Malaysia and Mexico?
- 0.9%, with Mexico ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malaysia and Mexico?
- 20 years are reported by both, from 1996 to 2023.
- How do Malaysia and Mexico rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Malaysia ranks 27th and Mexico ranks 24th 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.