Papua New Guinea vs United States of America: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Papua New Guinea
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 12.9% against 12.3% in Papua New Guinea, a difference of 0.6%.
That makes United States of America's figure about 1.1 times Papua New Guinea's.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 23 shared years of data; in 1990 it was United States of America ahead.
Papua New Guinea ranks 41st and United States of America ranks 38th of 152 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Papua New Guinea averaged higher in 3 and United States of America in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Papua New Guinea | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 13.8% | 14.9% | 1.1% | United States of America |
| 2000s | 16.5% | 11.9% | 4.6% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2010s | 11.0% | 8.6% | 2.4% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2020s | 12.3% | 9.2% | 3.1% | Papua New Guinea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Papua New Guinea or United States of America?
- United States of America, at 12.9% against 12.3% in Papua New Guinea as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Papua New Guinea and United States of America?
- 0.6%, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Papua New Guinea and United States of America?
- 23 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2023.
- How do Papua New Guinea and United States of America rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 41st and United States of America 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.