£111 bn
Per year
Interest costs
Debt has to be serviced. Here is what that costs — and why the interest rate matters as much as the size of the debt.
Interest cost breakdown
£9.3 bn
Per month (average)
£304 m
Per day (average)
9%
Of government revenue
3.6%
Of GDP
Annual figure: OBR, debt interest (central government, net of APF). Monthly and daily are simple averages of the annual figure. Per cent of revenue and GDP are calculated. official
Why the interest rate matters as much as the debt
The same pile of debt can be cheap or expensive to hold, depending on the interest rate paid on it. Since 2021, two things pushed UK debt interest sharply higher: high inflation raised the cost of index-linked gilts (whose value rises with prices), and higher Bank of England interest rates raised the cost of new and refinanced borrowing.
That is why "how much is owed" and "at what rate" are both part of the story — and why the cost can rise even when the debt itself is broadly flat.
Historical trend
Annual debt interest over time
| Year | Debt interest (£ bn) |
|---|---|
| 1979 | 8 |
| 1990 | 17 |
| 2000 | 25 |
| 2008 | 31 |
| 2010 | 44 |
| 2015 | 45 |
| 2019 | 48 |
| 2020 | 39 |
| 2021 | 70 |
| 2022 | 110 |
| 2023 | 108 |
| 2024 | 105 |
| 2026 | 111 |
Source: Bank of England 'A millennium of macroeconomic data', ONS and OBR for recent years. estimated