North America - Interest payments (% of revenue)

Interest payments (% of revenue) in North America was 15.06 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 48 years was 24.40 in 1990, while its lowest value was 6.43 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 6.93
1973 6.43
1974 8.28
1975 8.42
1976 9.23
1977 9.01
1978 8.23
1979 9.63
1980 11.23
1981 12.26
1982 14.68
1983 16.37
1984 17.20
1985 19.23
1986 18.80
1987 17.17
1988 17.48
1989 17.28
1990 24.40
1991 23.80
1992 22.76
1993 21.87
1994 21.38
1995 22.54
1996 21.66
1997 19.30
1998 18.39
1999 16.89
2000 15.46
2001 17.12
2002 15.93
2003 14.98
2004 14.18
2005 13.50
2006 13.07
2007 12.94
2008 12.65
2009 12.79
2010 12.73
2011 12.99
2012 12.14
2013 10.79
2014 10.32
2015 9.51
2016 9.60
2017 9.11
2018 10.47
2019 10.74
2020 15.06

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