In 2025, spending on public debt interest reached €40.314 billion, nearly 4% more than the previous year, which closed at €38.793 billion. According to Government forecasts, this figure will rise again in 2026, reaching a cost of €42.059 billion. This stands in contrast, for example, to spending on unemployment benefits (approximately €25 billion) or defence (estimated at around €34 billion).
In 2024, the cost of borrowing had already hit a new record high, surpassing the levels of 2014 when debt interest spending was €36.706 billion. The historic low occurred prior to the 2008 financial crisis; in 2006, annual spending stood at just €16.168 billion.
The evolution of interest spending is directly linked to both the accumulation of debt and its financing conditions. According to the latest data published by the Bank of Spain, public debt is growing at an annual rate of 4.7% and currently stands at €1.723 trillion—an unprecedented historical high. In relation to GDP, it remains slightly above 100%, three percentage points higher than 2019 levels.
