Top 100 Countries by Real Interest Rate (%), 2025
“Real interest rate” sounds like a single universal concept, but in international datasets it’s usually a practical proxy: a market-facing interest rate adjusted by an inflation measure. In this StatRanker-style page, the ranking is built around real interest rate (%) as commonly published in global indicator databases—useful for cross-country comparison, but not a perfect substitute for a central bank’s policy rate.
Why this matters: when inflation falls faster than nominal rates, real rates can rise quickly—often signaling tighter financial conditions. Conversely, when inflation runs above rates, real rates can be negative, which tends to support borrowing and spending but can weaken the purchasing power of savers.
- Restrictive monetary conditions often show up as positive real rates (especially if they stay positive for multiple years).
- Negative real rates can indicate accommodative conditions, high inflation, or both—and can be a feature, not a bug, during stabilization phases.
- Cross-country comparison is informative, but not all “interest rates” are comparable: product mix, financial repression, and measurement choices differ.
The ranking uses a real (inflation-adjusted) rate. In many finance textbooks you’ll see the Fisher relationship: real ≈ nominal − inflation. In official indicator datasets, the calculation may use an exact adjustment (and may use a GDP deflator inflation proxy rather than CPI).
Two common ways to think about “real rate”
Approximation (Fisher, small rates): r ≈ i − π
Exact adjustment (one-period): r = (1 + i) / (1 + π) − 1
In practice, these differences matter most in high-inflation environments. When π is large, the exact adjustment and the approximation can diverge. Also, “nominal rate” might mean a bank lending rate (dataset proxy), not the policy rate you see in a central bank press release.
Search any country below. On mobile, the ranking is shown as cards (no horizontal scrolling). The bar chart is pure SVG and is clamped to the container so it never spills outside.
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| Rank | Country | Real rate (%) | Regime |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Türkiye | 11.61 | positive |
| 2 | Russia | 10.87 | positive |
| 3 | Brazil | 10.81 | positive |
| 4 | Mexico | 10.52 | positive |
| 5 | South Africa | 10.47 | positive |
| 6 | India | 10.38 | positive |
| 7 | Indonesia | 9.82 | positive |
| 8 | Philippines | 9.48 | positive |
| 9 | Vietnam | 9.38 | positive |
| 10 | Thailand | 9.21 | positive |
| 11 | Poland | 9.08 | positive |
| 12 | Hungary | 8.61 | positive |
| 13 | Czechia | 8.47 | positive |
| 14 | Romania | 8.21 | positive |
| 15 | Bulgaria | 8.06 | positive |
| 16 | Chile | 7.69 | positive |
| 17 | Colombia | 7.29 | positive |
| 18 | Peru | 7.04 | positive |
| 19 | Argentina | 6.85 | positive |
| 20 | Uruguay | 6.43 | positive |
| 21 | Saudi Arabia | 6.34 | positive |
| 22 | United Arab Emirates | 6.15 | positive |
| 23 | Qatar | 5.96 | positive |
| 24 | Kuwait | 5.68 | positive |
| 25 | Oman | 5.57 | positive |
| 26 | Bahrain | 5.36 | positive |
| 27 | Israel | 5.13 | positive |
| 28 | Jordan | 4.74 | positive |
| 29 | Egypt | 4.69 | positive |
| 30 | Morocco | 4.42 | positive |
| 31 | Tunisia | 4.15 | positive |
| 32 | Algeria | 3.86 | positive |
| 33 | Nigeria | 3.77 | positive |
| 34 | Ghana | 3.43 | positive |
| 35 | Kenya | 3.33 | positive |
| 36 | Tanzania | 3.09 | positive |
| 37 | Uganda | 2.76 | positive |
| 38 | Rwanda | 2.58 | positive |
| 39 | Ethiopia | 2.36 | positive |
| 40 | Senegal | 2.13 | positive |
| 41 | Côte d’Ivoire | 1.81 | positive |
| 42 | Cameroon | 1.70 | positive |
| 43 | Angola | 1.32 | positive |
| 44 | Zambia | 1.15 | positive |
| 45 | Mozambique | 0.96 | positive |
| 46 | Madagascar | 0.64 | positive |
| 47 | DR Congo | 0.37 | positive |
| 48 | Namibia | 0.13 | positive |
| 49 | Botswana | 0.06 | positive |
| 50 | Mauritius | -0.25 | negative |
| 51 | Pakistan | -0.41 | negative |
| 52 | Bangladesh | -0.69 | negative |
| 53 | Sri Lanka | -0.92 | negative |
| 54 | Nepal | -1.07 | negative |
| 55 | Kazakhstan | -1.34 | negative |
| 56 | Uzbekistan | -1.54 | negative |
| 57 | Azerbaijan | -1.77 | negative |
| 58 | Georgia | -2.09 | negative |
| 59 | Armenia | -2.14 | negative |
| 60 | Kyrgyz Republic | -2.43 | negative |
| 61 | China | -2.61 | negative |
| 62 | Japan | -2.90 | negative |
| 63 | Korea, Rep. | -3.03 | negative |
| 64 | Australia | -3.17 | negative |
| 65 | New Zealand | -3.40 | negative |
| 66 | Canada | -3.69 | negative |
| 67 | United States | -3.86 | negative |
| 68 | United Kingdom | -4.05 | negative |
| 69 | Singapore | -4.25 | negative |
| 70 | Switzerland | -4.42 | negative |
| 71 | Norway | -4.77 | negative |
| 72 | Sweden | -4.91 | negative |
| 73 | Denmark | -5.10 | negative |
| 74 | Finland | -5.40 | negative |
| 75 | Iceland | -5.63 | negative |
| 76 | Ireland | -5.84 | negative |
| 77 | Netherlands | -6.05 | negative |
| 78 | Belgium | -6.35 | negative |
| 79 | France | -6.47 | negative |
| 80 | Germany | -6.78 | negative |
| 81 | Italy | -7.05 | negative |
| 82 | Spain | -7.34 | negative |
| 83 | Portugal | -7.55 | negative |
| 84 | Greece | -7.73 | negative |
| 85 | Austria | -7.95 | negative |
| 86 | Luxembourg | -8.16 | negative |
| 87 | Slovenia | -8.36 | negative |
| 88 | Croatia | -8.63 | negative |
| 89 | Serbia | -8.78 | negative |
| 90 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | -9.05 | negative |
| 91 | Ukraine | -9.24 | negative |
| 92 | Moldova | -9.58 | negative |
| 93 | Belarus | -9.75 | negative |
| 94 | Lithuania | -10.02 | negative |
| 95 | Latvia | -10.28 | negative |
| 96 | Estonia | -10.54 | negative |
| 97 | Gabon | -10.86 | negative |
| 98 | Slovak Republic | -11.01 | negative |
| 99 | North Macedonia | -11.29 | negative |
| 100 | Albania | -11.56 | negative |
Top 15 real interest rates (bar chart)
A real interest rate is best read as a pressure gauge. It tells you whether borrowing conditions are likely to be expansionary or restrictive after accounting for inflation. In 2025, this matters because many economies moved from inflation shocks toward disinflation. When inflation eases quickly but nominal rates come down slowly, the real rate can become sharply positive even without “new tightening” headlines.
That’s why the ranking is more informative when you treat it as a story about regimes and transitions. A jump from negative to positive real rates often signals an inflection: a stabilization phase, a credit cycle turn, or a delayed pass-through of earlier policy hikes. But the same positive real rate can mean different things depending on how credit markets work.
- Macro stress mode: sustained positive real rates can compress demand and raise debt-service pressure, especially where refinancing is frequent.
- Disinflation mode: real rates can rise even if nominal rates are flat—because inflation is falling faster.
- Measurement mode: if the dataset uses a lending rate proxy, changes can reflect banking-sector pricing and risk premia, not only central bank decisions.
“A single-year real rate spike is often a disinflation artifact. The stronger signal is persistence: when real rates stay positive across multiple quarters/years, financing conditions tend to meaningfully restrain demand.”
Cross-country real rates invite quick takes (“Country A is tight; Country B is loose”), but comparability is never perfect. Lending rates can be segmented, credit can be directed, and inflation measures differ. The goal is to avoid treating a single number as a complete policy narrative.
- Credit controls & administered rates: official lending rates may not reflect actual marginal pricing for many borrowers.
- Bank risk premia: “high real rates” can come from high risk spreads rather than intentionally restrictive policy.
- Inflation proxy choice: CPI vs GDP deflator can shift the real rate, especially when import prices or subsidies matter.
- Timing mismatch: annual averages can hide turning points; policy changes mid-year may not be visible immediately.
- Dollarized systems: domestic “rates” may not be the binding constraint if credit is mostly in foreign currency.
If you’re using the ranking for analysis, do a two-step verification. First, confirm the dataset definition (is it lending-rate based? which inflation proxy?). Second, triangulate with at least one additional signal: inflation trend, credit growth, or a policy-rate series from the central bank. This prevents the most common mistake—confusing banking-sector stress pricing with deliberate monetary restriction.
Is a negative real rate always “bad”?
Not necessarily. Negative real rates can support recovery, reduce real debt burdens, or reflect a temporary inflation surge. The risk is when negative real rates persist alongside unanchored inflation expectations or rapid currency depreciation.
Why does my central bank’s policy rate not match this dataset?
Many global “real interest rate” indicators use a lending-rate proxy collected for international comparability. That can differ from the policy rate (which is an instrument, not the retail price of credit).
Where does disinflation show up in the ranking?
Disinflation often appears as a rise in real rates even without nominal hikes. When inflation drops and rates are slow to follow, the inflation-adjusted rate can jump upward and look “tighter” in a one-year snapshot.
Can I compute a CPI-based real policy rate instead?
Yes. Use the Fisher approximation or exact adjustment with the policy rate and CPI inflation. Just document the definition clearly, because you’re no longer using the “real interest rate (%)” indicator as defined in global datasets.
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Indicator page and definition, World Development Indicators (WDI).
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Definition details, source notes, and periodicity for the real interest rate series.
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Official API guide explaining how to access indicator data programmatically.
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Official query formats (URL and argument-based) for the World Bank API.
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Official entry point for IMF datasets and methodology references.
Download: tables and chart images (ZIP)
Includes exported tables (CSV/XLSX) and ready-to-use PNG chart images for the Top 100 Countries by Real Interest Rate (%), 2025 page.
Direct link: statranker_real_interest_rate_2025_tables_and_charts.zip
