Share of government spending going to interest payments in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea: Share of government spending going to interest payments was 12.3% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
12.3%
Change on year
up 3.4%
World rank
41st
of 152 countries
All-time high
20.6%
in 2002
All-time low
7.5%
in 2014
Years of data
23
1990–2023

Share of government spending going to interest payments in Papua New Guinea, 1990–2023

051015201990200620231990: 12.2 % of expense1991: 8.9 % of expense1992: 11.2 % of expense1993: 10.8 % of expense1994: 12.3 % of expense1995: 19.7 % of expense1996: 14.9 % of expense1997: 15.2 % of expense1998: 18 % of expense1999: 14.8 % of expense2000: 13.9 % of expense2001: 15 % of expense2002: 20.6 % of expense2014: 7.5 % of expense2015: 9.3 % of expense2016: 10.4 % of expense2017: 12.7 % of expense2018: 12.7 % of expense2019: 13.3 % of expense2020: 12.5 % of expense2021: 12.4 % of expense2022: 11.9 % of expense2023: 12.3 % of expense

Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.

Analysis

Papua New Guinea recorded 12.3% for share of government spending going to interest payments in 2023.

That represents a change of up 3.4% on the previous year and up 63.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of government spending going to interest payments in Papua New Guinea peaked at 20.6% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 7.5%, in 2014.

That places Papua New Guinea 41st out of 152 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.

Share of government spending going to interest payments in Papua New Guinea, year by year

Annual values for Share of government spending going to interest payments in Papua New Guinea, 1990 to 2023.
Year % of expense Change
1990 12.2%
1991 8.9% -27.1%
1992 11.2% +26.7%
1993 10.8% -4.3%
1994 12.3% +14.0%
1995 19.7% +60.8%
1996 14.9% -24.5%
1997 15.2% +2.0%
1998 18.0% +18.7%
1999 14.8% -17.7%
2000 13.9% -6.4%
2001 15.0% +7.9%
2002 20.6% +37.5%
2014 7.5% -63.6%
2015 9.3% +24.3%
2016 10.4% +11.8%
2017 12.7% +21.5%
2018 12.7% +0.5%
2019 13.3% +4.1%
2020 12.5% -5.6%
2021 12.4% -1.2%
2022 11.9% -4.1%
2023 12.3% +3.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 13.8% 8.9% 19.7% 10
2000s 16.5% 13.9% 20.6% 3
2010s 11.0% 7.5% 13.3% 6
2020s 12.3% 11.9% 12.5% 4

Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea

  1. 38 United States 12.9% compare
  2. 39 Armenia 12.7% compare
  3. 40 Tanzania, United Republic of 12.6% compare
  4. 42 Guatemala 12.0% compare
  5. 43 Burkina Faso 11.9% compare
  6. 44 Congo 11.5% compare

See the full ranking of 152 places →

More reference data data for Papua New Guinea

All data for Papua New Guinea →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of government spending going to interest payments in Papua New Guinea?
Share of government spending going to interest payments in Papua New Guinea was 12.3% in 2023, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of government spending going to interest payments recorded in Papua New Guinea?
The highest recorded value was 20.6% in 2002.
What is the lowest share of government spending going to interest payments recorded in Papua New Guinea?
The lowest recorded value was 7.5% in 2014.
How does Papua New Guinea rank for share of government spending going to interest payments?
Papua New Guinea ranks 41st out of 152 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of government spending going to interest payments rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
Over the last ten years it is up 63.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
The figures come from International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of government spending going to interest payments. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share of government spending going to interest payments in Papua New Guinea. Statizoid, drawing on International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-government-expenditure-going-to-interest-payments/papua-new-guinea/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-government-expenditure-going-to-interest-payments/papua-new-guinea/">Share of government spending going to interest payments in Papua New Guinea</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of government spending going to interest payments
Unit
% of expense
Source
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
152 places, 4,278 data points, 1972–2024
Last refreshed

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.