The Global Interest Rate Map 2026
The number your savings account pays you says a lot about your country
In Turkiye, banks paid depositors 71% interest in 2024. In Singapore, they paid 0.1%. Both numbers are real, both are from the same World Bank dataset, and both tell a story about how different economies manage money, inflation, and the gap between what banks earn and what they share.
We pulled deposit interest rates and bank lending-deposit spreads for 113 and 105 economies respectively from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators. The results reveal a world split between countries fighting inflation with sky-high rates and countries where savers earn almost nothing — and a banking margin in between that ranges from under 1 percentage point to more than 50.
For context on how these rates fit into the broader picture of global borrowing costs, see our report on the cost of credit in 2026.
Where deposit rates are highest
The top of the deposit-rate rankings reads like a list of countries battling double-digit inflation. When central banks push policy rates up to defend a currency or cool an overheated economy, commercial banks follow — and depositors briefly become the beneficiaries.
| Rank | Country | Deposit rate | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turkiye | 71.0% | 2024 |
| 2 | Argentina | 54.2% | 2024 |
| 3 | Egypt | 19.2% | 2024 |
| 4 | Uzbekistan | 18.1% | 2024 |
| 5 | Zimbabwe | 17.9% | 2024 |
| 6 | Russia | 14.6% | 2024 |
| 7 | Madagascar | 12.6% | 2024 |
| 8 | Kenya | 12.0% | 2024 |
| 9 | Ghana | 11.4% | 2023 |
| 10 | Georgia | 10.4% | 2024 |
Turkey’s 71% deposit rate is not generosity — it is triage. With annual inflation running above 60%, real returns on lira deposits remain deeply negative even at that headline rate. The same dynamic applies in Argentina, where a 54% deposit rate in 2024 still lagged behind inflation that exceeded 200% the year before. For a deeper look at where households actually save and how those savings compare to economic output, see where the world parks its money.
Where deposit rates are lowest
At the other extreme, a handful of economies pay depositors almost nothing. Low rates typically signal one of two things: a stable, low-inflation environment where central banks have kept policy rates near zero, or a banking system with so little competition that banks see no reason to share returns with savers.
| Rank | Country | Deposit rate | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 113 | Micronesia | 0.04% | 2021 |
| 112 | Singapore | 0.1% | 2021 |
| 111 | South Sudan | 0.1% | 2024 |
| 110 | Barbados | 0.1% | 2022 |
| 109 | Montenegro | 0.3% | 2024 |
| 108 | Papua New Guinea | 0.3% | 2024 |
| 107 | Bulgaria | 0.3% | 2024 |
| 106 | Brunei | 0.4% | 2024 |
| 105 | Solomon Islands | 0.4% | 2023 |
| 104 | Israel | 0.4% | 2022 |
Among major economies, China stands out: its 1.5% deposit rate in 2024 has been unchanged since 2015 — a decade of administered stability. Switzerland paid just 0.9% in 2024, after years of negative rates that only ended in 2022. For a broader look at how deposit levels compare to economic output across countries, see why some countries have more deposits than GDP.
The spread: what banks keep for themselves
The interest-rate spread — the gap between what banks charge borrowers and what they pay depositors — measures how much margin the banking system extracts. A wide spread usually signals high risk, weak competition, or regulatory friction. A narrow spread suggests efficient intermediation.
| Rank | Country | Spread | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 105 | Zimbabwe | 51.0 pp | 2024 |
| 104 | Madagascar | 47.4 pp | 2024 |
| 103 | Brazil | 32.5 pp | 2024 |
| 102 | Kyrgyzstan | 18.1 pp | 2024 |
| 101 | DR Congo | 17.6 pp | 2021 |
| 100 | Gambia | 15.5 pp | 2024 |
| 99 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 15.2 pp | 2024 |
| 98 | South Sudan | 14.5 pp | 2024 |
| 97 | Sierra Leone | 13.8 pp | 2024 |
| 96 | Mozambique | 13.5 pp | 2024 |
Brazil’s 32.5 percentage-point spread is the widest among major economies and has been a persistent feature of its financial system — even as deposit rates fell from their hyperinflation-era peaks. For comparison, see our analysis of where credit runs deepest and the most expensive places to borrow.
Where banking is cheapest for borrowers (relative to savers)
The tightest spreads tell a different story — one of competitive banking markets, often in small or highly regulated economies.
| Rank | Country | Spread | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zambia | 0.8 pp | 2020 |
| 2 | Benin | 1.0 pp | 2021 |
| 3 | Burkina Faso | 1.0 pp | 2021 |
| 4 | Qatar | 1.0 pp | 2024 |
| 5 | South Korea | 1.2 pp | 2024 |
| 6 | Bangladesh | 1.3 pp | 2024 |
| 7 | Oman | 1.4 pp | 2021 |
| 8 | Switzerland | 2.0 pp | 2024 |
| 9 | Jordan | 2.4 pp | 2024 |
| 10 | Kuwait | 2.5 pp | 2024 |
South Korea’s 1.2 percentage-point spread is remarkable for a major economy — it means Korean banks keep very little margin between what they pay depositors (3.5%) and what they charge borrowers. For context on how Korean households use financial services, see the debit card divide.
Key economies at a glance
| Country | Deposit rate | Spread | Data year |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | — | — | Not in dataset |
| China | 1.5% | 2.9 pp | 2024 |
| Brazil | 7.7% | 32.5 pp | 2024 |
| South Korea | 3.5% | 1.2 pp | 2024 |
| Switzerland | 0.9% | 2.0 pp | 2024 |
| Russia | 14.6% | 2.5 pp | 2024 |
| Mexico | 4.5% | 6.7 pp | 2024 |
| Indonesia | 5.4% | 3.4 pp | 2024 |
| South Africa | 7.9% | 3.7 pp | 2024 |
| Nigeria | 7.8% | 6.2 pp | 2023 |
| Argentina | 54.2% | 7.5 pp | 2024 |
| Turkiye | 71.0% | — | 2024 |
Russia is a notable case: a 14.6% deposit rate paired with only a 2.5 percentage-point spread. That combination — high rates but a thin margin — suggests banks are passing most of the central bank’s tight policy directly to customers, with little extra markup. For a broader view of how households and firms access finance, see how the world borrows and how the world saves.
What the data does and does not tell you
Deposit interest rates in this dataset are weighted averages of rates paid by commercial banks on all deposit products. They do not capture:
- Real returns. A 71% nominal rate in Turkey means very little when inflation exceeds 60%. Real deposit rates require adjusting for CPI — a calculation we leave to country-specific analysis.
- Savings account specifics. The rate is an economy-wide average. Individual account rates vary by bank, product, and balance tier.
- Risk-free alternatives. Treasury bills, money market funds, and government bonds often pay different rates than bank deposits.
The spread, similarly, is the difference between the weighted average lending rate and the weighted average deposit rate. It does not account for fees, collateral requirements, or credit rationing — factors that can make the true cost of borrowing much higher than the headline spread suggests. For more on how we handle these measurement challenges, see reading fintech statistics responsibly.
Sources & method
All data comes from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, accessed through the deposit interest rate (FR.INR.DPST) and bank lending-deposit rate spread (FR.INR.LNDP) series. Deposit rates cover 113 economies; spreads cover 105. Data years range from 2020 to 2024 depending on country reporting. Rankings are global among all countries with available data. For full methodology details, see the methodology page.
For related analysis, see our reports on bank capital adequacy, bank liquidity reserves, and where bad loans pile up.