Sri Lanka vs Zambia: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Sri Lanka
49.4%
in 2023
Zambia
26.5%
in 2021
Sri Lanka rank
1st
Zambia rank
4th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Sri Lanka
- Zambia
How they compare
Sri Lanka currently reports 49.4% against 26.5% in Zambia, a difference of 22.9%.
That makes Sri Lanka's figure about 1.9 times Zambia's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 23 shared years of data; in 1998 it was Sri Lanka ahead.
Sri Lanka ranks 1st and Zambia ranks 4th of 152 countries.
Sri Lanka has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Sri Lanka | Zambia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 25.6% | 17.9% | 7.7% | Sri Lanka |
| 2000s | 27.9% | 14.4% | 13.5% | Sri Lanka |
| 2010s | 31.5% | 18.6% | 12.9% | Sri Lanka |
| 2020s | 33.5% | 29.5% | 3.9% | Sri Lanka |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Sri Lanka or Zambia?
- Sri Lanka, at 49.4% against 26.5% in Zambia as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Sri Lanka and Zambia?
- 22.9%, with Sri Lanka ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Sri Lanka and Zambia?
- 23 years are reported by both, from 1998 to 2021.
- How do Sri Lanka and Zambia rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Sri Lanka ranks 1st 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.