Share of government expenditure going to interest payments in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Share of government expenditure going to interest payments was 49.44 in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
49.44
Change on year
up 19.7%
World rank
1st
of 152 countries
All-time high
49.44
in 2023
All-time low
22.06
in 1995
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Share of government expenditure going to interest payments in Sri Lanka, 1990–2023

010203040501990200620231990: 26.11991: 23.21992: 25.41993: 25.41994: 271995: 22.11996: 25.51997: 27.21998: 24.81999: 26.52000: 24.62001: 28.12002: 32.22003: 33.52004: 27.72005: 24.32006: 24.32007: 25.52008: 25.12009: 30.62010: 32.62011: 30.62012: 30.22013: 31.62014: 28.52015: 25.82016: 30.42017: 33.32018: 36.32019: 35.62020: 32.92021: 34.12022: 41.32023: 49.4

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Sri Lanka recorded 49.44 for share of government expenditure going to interest payments in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.

The figure is up 19.7% on the previous year and up 56.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of government expenditure going to interest payments in Sri Lanka peaked at 49.44 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 22.06, in 1995.

Sri Lanka ranks 1st of 152 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Share of government expenditure going to interest payments in Sri Lanka, year by year

Annual values for Share of government expenditure going to interest payments in Sri Lanka, 1990 to 2023.
Year Value Change
1990 26.07
1991 23.24 -10.9%
1992 25.44 +9.5%
1993 25.35 -0.3%
1994 27.02 +6.6%
1995 22.06 -18.4%
1996 25.5 +15.6%
1997 27.18 +6.6%
1998 24.78 -8.8%
1999 26.47 +6.8%
2000 24.63 -7.0%
2001 28.14 +14.3%
2002 32.15 +14.3%
2003 33.53 +4.3%
2004 27.66 -17.5%
2005 24.26 -12.3%
2006 24.26 +0.0%
2007 25.46 +5.0%
2008 25.07 -1.5%
2009 30.56 +21.9%
2010 32.63 +6.8%
2011 30.58 -6.3%
2012 30.16 -1.4%
2013 31.56 +4.6%
2014 28.51 -9.6%
2015 25.79 -9.6%
2016 30.44 +18.1%
2017 33.35 +9.5%
2018 36.32 +8.9%
2019 35.55 -2.1%
2020 32.86 -7.6%
2021 34.08 +3.7%
2022 41.32 +21.2%
2023 49.44 +19.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 25.31 22.06 27.18 10
2000s 27.57 24.26 33.53 10
2010s 31.49 25.79 36.32 10
2020s 39.42 32.86 49.44 4

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 2 Ghana 32.79 compare
  2. 3 Angola 31.91 compare
  3. 4 Zambia 26.53 compare

See the full ranking of 152 places →

More reference data data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of government expenditure going to interest payments in Sri Lanka?
Share of government expenditure going to interest payments in Sri Lanka was 49.44 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of government expenditure going to interest payments recorded in Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 49.44 in 2023.
What is the lowest share of government expenditure going to interest payments recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 22.06 in 1995.
How does Sri Lanka rank for share of government expenditure going to interest payments?
Sri Lanka ranks 1st out of 152 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of government expenditure going to interest payments rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is up 56.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of government expenditure going to interest payments. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of government expenditure going to interest payments in Sri Lanka. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-government-expenditure-going-to-interest-payments/sri-lanka/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of government expenditure going to interest payments
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
152 places, 4,278 data points, 1972–2024
Last refreshed