North America - Interest payments (% of expense)

Interest payments (% of expense) in North America was 8.05 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 48 years was 20.21 in 1990, while its lowest value was 6.15 in 1973.

Definition: Interest payments include interest payments on government debt--including long-term bonds, long-term loans, and other debt instruments--to domestic and foreign residents.

Source: International Monetary Fund, Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files.

See also:

Year Value
1972 6.51
1973 6.15
1974 8.32
1975 7.48
1976 7.76
1977 8.19
1978 7.62
1979 9.47
1980 10.45
1981 11.65
1982 12.90
1983 12.91
1984 14.26
1985 15.82
1986 15.20
1987 15.06
1988 15.28
1989 15.36
1990 20.21
1991 19.37
1992 18.46
1993 17.70
1994 17.84
1995 19.42
1996 19.70
1997 19.49
1998 19.12
1999 17.97
2000 17.42
2001 17.87
2002 15.51
2003 14.01
2004 13.45
2005 12.77
2006 12.92
2007 12.72
2008 11.18
2009 9.46
2010 9.31
2011 9.94
2012 9.71
2013 9.59
2014 9.36
2015 8.74
2016 8.55
2017 8.40
2018 9.02
2019 9.07
2020 8.05

Limitations and Exceptions: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Despite IMF efforts to standardize data collection, statistics are often incomplete, untimely, and not comparable across countries.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: The IMF's Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014, harmonized with the 2008 SNA, recommends an accrual accounting method, focusing on all economic events affecting assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses, not just those represented by cash transactions. It accounts for all changes in stocks, so stock data at the end of an accounting period equal stock data at the beginning of the period plus flows over the period. The 1986 manual considered only debt stocks. Government finance statistics are reported in local currency. Many countries report government finance data by fiscal year; see country metadata for information on fiscal year end by country.

Aggregation method: Median

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Public Sector Indicators

Sub-Topic: Government finance