Share of taxes eaten up by interest on debt

The interest government pays on its debt, compared with everything it collects (taxes and social contributions). At 10%, one euro of tax in ten goes to paying interest.

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World map: Share of taxes eaten up by interest on debt, 2024 — Map 2024. Source: FMI, Public Finances in Modern History (dette, intérêts) ; UNU-WIDER, Government Revenue Dataset (prélèvements).

In 2024, 117 countries have a value. Highest: Sri Lanka (79.7 %), Pakistan (62.6 %), Congo - Brazzaville (60 %). Lowest: Luxembourg (0.8 %), Switzerland (1.3 %), Sweden (1.6 %). World (GDP-weighted average): 10.7 %. France: 4.7 % (85th of 117).

Country ranking in 2024

Rank	Country	Value
1	Sri Lanka	79.7 %
2	Pakistan	62.6 %
3	Congo - Brazzaville	60 %
4	Mexico	45.3 %
5	Guinea-Bissau	36.2 %
6	Kenya	35.2 %
7	Jordan	31.9 %
8	Bangladesh	31.4 %
9	Ghana	29.7 %
10	India its history →	29.5 %
11	Angola	28.7 %
12	Uganda	26.3 %
13	Brazil	25.3 %
14	Dominican Republic	23.6 %
15	Panama	23.3 %
16	Bahamas	22.8 %
17	Malaysia	22.5 %
18	Niger	22.3 %
19	El Salvador	22.2 %
20	Indonesia	21.5 %
21	Senegal	21.3 %
22	Tanzania	20.4 %
23	Togo	19.9 %
24	Mozambique	19.8 %
25	Côte d’Ivoire	19.6 %
26	Costa Rica	19.4 %
27	Fiji	19.3 %
28	Trinidad & Tobago	19.2 %
29	Namibia	19.1 %
30	South Africa	18.7 %
31	Jamaica	18.5 %
32	Philippines	18.3 %
33	Paraguay	17.5 %
34	Colombia	17.4 %
35	Rwanda	17.1 %
36	Bhutan	15.9 %
37	United States	15.9 %
38	Papua New Guinea	15.4 %
39	Ecuador	15.3 %
40	Suriname	14.8 %
41	Bolivia	14.5 %
42	Hungary its history →	14.5 %
43	Guatemala	13.1 %
44	Türkiye	12.8 %
45	Ukraine its history →	12.7 %
46	Burkina Faso	12 %
47	Saudi Arabia	12 %
48	Central African Republic	11.9 %
49	Belize	11.6 %
50	Tunisia	11.6 %
51	Israel	11.5 %
52	Iceland	11.4 %
53	Eswatini	10.6 %
54	Honduras	10.5 %
55	Guinea	10.3 %
56	Canada	10.1 %
57	Morocco	10.1 %
58	Burundi	9.9 %
59	Equatorial Guinea	9.7 %
60	Italy	9.3 %
61	Peru	8.9 %
62	Ethiopia	8.7 %
63	Greece	8.7 %
64	Uruguay	8.7 %
65	Albania	8.5 %
66	United Kingdom	8.1 %
67	Romania	7.5 %
68	Thailand	7.1 %
69	Nicaragua	7 %
70	Spain its history →	6.7 %
71	Georgia	6.5 %
72	Chile	6.4 %
73	Lesotho	6.4 %
74	North Macedonia	6.4 %
75	Poland	6.3 %
76	Madagascar	6.1 %
77	New Zealand	5.9 %
78	Argentina its history →	5.8 %
79	Portugal its history →	5.8 %
80	Australia its history →	5.7 %
81	Belgium	5.3 %
82	Uzbekistan	5.3 %
83	Congo - Kinshasa	5.2 %
84	Vanuatu	4.8 %
85	France its history →	4.7 %
86	Cyprus	4.5 %
87	Moldova	4.5 %
88	China	4.3 %
89	Japan	4.3 %
90	Mongolia	4.3 %
91	Croatia	4.1 %
92	Czechia	4 %
93	Slovakia	4 %
94	Russia	3.9 %
95	South Korea	3.8 %
96	Finland	3.7 %
97	Austria	3.6 %
98	Tajikistan	3.6 %
99	Slovenia	3.5 %
100	Kyrgyzstan	3.4 %
101	Latvia	2.9 %
102	United Arab Emirates	2.8 %
103	Germany its history →	2.8 %
104	Guyana	2.8 %
105	Norway	2.8 %
106	Bosnia & Herzegovina	2.7 %
107	Ireland	2.7 %
108	Cambodia	2.3 %
109	Solomon Islands	2.1 %
110	Denmark	1.8 %
111	Netherlands its history →	1.8 %
112	Bulgaria	1.7 %
113	Estonia	1.7 %
114	Azerbaijan	1.6 %
115	Sweden its history →	1.6 %
116	Switzerland its history →	1.3 %
117	Luxembourg	0.8 %

61 countries or territories have no value that year.

Continent averages

World (GDP-weighted average)	10.7 %
Europe (average)	5.6 %
Americas (average)	17.5 %
Asia (average)	10.7 %
Oceania (average)	5.9 %

Understanding this map

Why compare interest with taxes

The “interest” view compares the cost of debt with the country's wealth (GDP). But the state does not pay with all of GDP: it pays with what it collects. For the same burden, a country that collects little feels it far more. In 2024 Pakistan pays about 8% of its GDP in interest and Italy 4%; but Pakistan collects only 12% of its GDP, Italy 42%: interest takes over 60% of Pakistan's taxes, less than a tenth of Italy's. The IMF and rating agencies watch this ratio closely: above 15 to 20%, interest starts to crowd out other spending.

France: only 5%?

The map compares the interest paid by all levels of government with all compulsory levies, social contributions included (about 45% of GDP): about 5% in 2024, against 3% in 2020 and 8% in the mid-1990s. But the debt is mostly the state's (about 80%), while a large share of levies goes to social security. Measured against the state's own tax revenue, the burden is much heavier: about €65 billion in 2025 for some €356 billion of net tax revenue, nearly one euro in five (according to the French Senate finance committee). And it has been rising fast since 2022, as debt borrowed at near-zero rates is renewed at 3%.

Where interest weighs most

The records are in poor countries that collect little and borrow at high rates: Sri Lanka (about 80% in 2024, after its 2022 default), Pakistan (over 60%), Kenya, Ghana, Bangladesh, India (about 30%). In rich countries the ratio peaked in the 1980s-1990s, when rates were very high: Italy spent up to nearly a third of its taxes on interest (1992-1995). It then melted as rates fell, before rising again since 2022, sharply in the United States (about 16% in 2024).

Limits

Levies count taxes and social contributions, not other revenue: oil or mining rents, dividends from state companies, foreign grants. The ratio is therefore overstated where such revenue matters (Mexico and Congo draw much of their resources from oil); countries collecting less than 6% of GDP (mostly oil states) are excluded. Interest and debt (IMF) and levies (UNU-WIDER) come from two sources whose scope can differ slightly (general or central government). Series from 1980; when a year's levies are not yet published, the map carries the last known value (up to three years, the tooltip says so). World and continents: total interest (or debt) divided by total levies of available countries, shown when they make up at least 60% of the zone's GDP.

Sources : FMI, Public Finances in Modern History (dette, intérêts) ; UNU-WIDER, Government Revenue Dataset (prélèvements)

In the same theme : Public finances

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Page updated on 2026-11-03.