Panama vs United States: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Panama
13.4%
in 2021
United States
12.9%
in 2023
Panama rank
35th
United States rank
38th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Panama
- United States
How they compare
Panama currently reports 13.4% against 12.9% in United States, a difference of 0.5%.
Across all 8 years both countries report, Panama has been ahead every year.
Panama ranks 35th and United States ranks 38th of 152 countries.
Panama has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Panama | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 12.7% | 8.6% | 4.1% | Panama |
| 2020s | 13.1% | 6.5% | 6.7% | Panama |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Panama or United States?
- Panama, at 13.4% against 12.9% in United States as of 2021.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Panama and United States?
- 0.5%, with Panama ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Panama and United States?
- 8 years are reported by both, from 2014 to 2021.
- How do Panama and United States rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Panama ranks 35th and United States ranks 38th 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.