Lending interest rate in Australia
Australia: Lending interest rate was 5.1% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Lending interest rate in Australia, 1960–2019
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in %.
Analysis
Australia recorded 5.1% for lending interest rate in 2019.
That represents a change of down 3.0% on the previous year and down 15.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lending interest rate in Australia peaked at 16.5% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 5.0%, in 1960.
Australia ranks 124th of 149 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 60 years of available data.
Lending interest rate in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 5.0% | — |
| 1961 | 5.5% | +10.0% |
| 1962 | 5.5% | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 5.1% | -6.8% |
| 1964 | 5.1% | -1.0% |
| 1965 | 5.3% | +4.7% |
| 1966 | 5.4% | +1.2% |
| 1967 | 5.4% | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 5.6% | +3.9% |
| 1969 | 5.9% | +5.2% |
| 1970 | 6.9% | +17.6% |
| 1971 | 7.2% | +5.0% |
| 1972 | 7.0% | -3.2% |
| 1973 | 7.3% | +4.6% |
| 1974 | 9.4% | +27.7% |
| 1975 | 10.3% | +9.6% |
| 1976 | 9.9% | -3.4% |
| 1977 | 9.9% | -0.4% |
| 1978 | 9.4% | -5.1% |
| 1979 | 9.1% | -2.7% |
| 1980 | 10.0% | +9.4% |
| 1981 | 11.8% | +18.6% |
| 1982 | 13.3% | +12.3% |
| 1983 | 12.4% | -6.6% |
| 1984 | 11.5% | -7.4% |
| 1985 | 12.4% | +8.0% |
| 1986 | 15.0% | +20.8% |
| 1987 | 15.1% | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 14.1% | -6.6% |
| 1989 | 16.5% | +16.9% |
| 1990 | 16.4% | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 13.4% | -18.0% |
| 1992 | 10.6% | -21.1% |
| 1993 | 9.4% | -11.0% |
| 1994 | 9.1% | -3.5% |
| 1995 | 10.5% | +15.5% |
| 1996 | 9.7% | -7.3% |
| 1997 | 7.2% | -26.3% |
| 1998 | 6.7% | -6.7% |
| 1999 | 6.6% | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 7.7% | +17.5% |
| 2001 | 6.8% | -11.3% |
| 2002 | 6.4% | -7.0% |
| 2003 | 6.6% | +3.9% |
| 2004 | 7.0% | +6.6% |
| 2005 | 7.3% | +3.0% |
| 2006 | 7.6% | +4.9% |
| 2007 | 8.2% | +7.7% |
| 2008 | 8.9% | +8.7% |
| 2009 | 6.0% | -32.4% |
| 2010 | 7.3% | +20.9% |
| 2011 | 7.7% | +6.3% |
| 2012 | 7.0% | -9.9% |
| 2013 | 6.2% | -11.4% |
| 2014 | 6.0% | -3.7% |
| 2015 | 5.6% | -6.3% |
| 2016 | 5.4% | -2.8% |
| 2017 | 5.2% | -3.2% |
| 2018 | 5.3% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 5.1% | -3.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 5.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.2%, 99% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Australia's 5.1% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5.5%, 93% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.4% | 5.0% | 5.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 8.6% | 6.9% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 13.2% | 10.0% | 16.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.0% | 6.6% | 16.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.3% | 6.0% | 8.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.1% | 5.1% | 7.7% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More financial sector data for Australia
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, annual growth rate 11.9 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0013 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per capita 83.74 units per person (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, annual growth rate 6.56 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0009 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per capita 61.14 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, annual growth rate 11.9 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0013 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per capita 83.74 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, SDR, annual growth rate 6.56 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lending interest rate in Australia?
- Lending interest rate in Australia was 5.1% in 2019, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest lending interest rate recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 16.5% in 1989.
- What is the lowest lending interest rate recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.0% in 1960.
- How does Australia rank for lending interest rate?
- Australia ranks 124th out of 149 countries with data for 2019.
- Is lending interest rate rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Lending interest rate (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 60 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Lending rate is the bank rate that usually meets the short- and medium-term financing needs of the private sector. This rate is normally differentiated according to creditworthiness of borrowers and objectives of financing. The terms and conditions attached to these rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.