Norway vs Sweden: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Norway
1.6%
in 2023
Sweden
1.4%
in 2022
Norway rank
132nd
Sweden rank
135th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Norway
- Sweden
How they compare
Norway currently reports 1.6% against 1.4% in Sweden, a difference of 0.2%.
That makes Norway's figure about 1.1 times Sweden's.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 51 shared years of data; in 1972 it was Sweden ahead.
Norway ranks 132nd and Sweden ranks 135th of 152 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Norway averaged higher in 1 and Sweden in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Norway | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.3% | 4.2% | 0.1% | Norway |
| 1980s | 7.4% | 13.6% | 6.2% | Sweden |
| 1990s | 5.5% | 10.9% | 5.4% | Sweden |
| 2000s | 4.7% | 5.5% | 0.8% | Sweden |
| 2010s | 1.3% | 1.8% | 0.5% | Sweden |
| 2020s | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.2% | Sweden |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Norway or Sweden?
- Norway, at 1.6% against 1.4% in Sweden as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Norway and Sweden?
- 0.2%, with Norway ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Norway and Sweden?
- 51 years are reported by both, from 1972 to 2022.
- How do Norway and Sweden rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Norway ranks 132nd and Sweden ranks 135th 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.