UK interest rates compared with other countries
In September 2026 the UK had the joint 19th-highest interest rate of the 33 central banks with figures for that month: 3.75%. Türkiye had the highest (37.00%) and Switzerland the lowest (0.00%). The simple average across the 33 was 5.76%, a difference of 2.01 percentage points from the UK's figure.
No September 2026 figure yet for Argentina, Australia, Croatia, India, South Korea and Morocco.
The UK over ten years
Over 2016 to 2025, the UK's highest value was 5.10% (2024) and its lowest 0.11% (2021).
The UK's figure was lower than the average in every year from 2016 to 2025.
How the BIS measures it
The Bank for International Settlements collects the main interest rate each central bank sets for monetary policy, as published by the central bank. For the UK this is the Bank of England's Bank Rate; for the euro area it is the European Central Bank's deposit facility rate (its main refinancing rate before 18 September 2024); for the US it is the mid-point of the Federal Reserve's target range. The table ranks each central bank's rate at the end of the latest month the BIS has for all of them; the history is the average of month-end rates in each year.
Countries compared: Every central bank in the Bank for International Settlements' policy rate series. Euro area countries share one rate. The table uses the latest month for which the UK and at least three-quarters of the countries the BIS covers have a figure, so every value is for the same period.
Why this differs from the UK's own figures
The UK's interest rate is not an ONS figure: Bank Rate is set by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, which publishes each decision. The BIS records the rate in force at the end of each month, so a change part-way through a month shows in that month. Mortgage and savings rates offered by banks are different from the policy rate.
The UK's own latest figure, with its definition and release dates: Bank of England Bank Rate.
Sources and receipts
Every value on this page was read from these addresses. The SHA-256 is the fingerprint of the file as downloaded, so a later change at the source can be detected.
- https://stats.bis.org/api/v2/data/dataflow/BIS/WS_CBPOL/1.0/M.*?format=csv&startPeriod=2014-01
Bank for International Settlements, Central bank policy rates · read 2026-10-14 · SHA-256
7f922191a5f339ad… - Bank for International Settlements: Central bank policy ratesThe publisher's page for this data, indicator WS_CBPOL.
Common questions
Where does the UK rank for interest rate among central banks?
Counting from the highest, the UK is 19th (joint) of 33 with 3.75% in September 2026, on BIS figures.
Which central bank has the highest interest rate?
Türkiye, at 37.00% in September 2026 (Bank for International Settlements).
Which central bank has the lowest interest rate?
Switzerland, at 0.00% in September 2026 (Bank for International Settlements).
What is the Central banks average interest rate?
The simple average of the 33 central banks with figures for September 2026 is 5.76%. The UK's figure is 3.75%.
How has the UK's interest rate changed since 2016?
It was 0.40% in 2016 and 4.23% in 2025 (yearly averages), according to the BIS.
Is this the same as the UK's official figure?
The UK's interest rate is not an ONS figure: Bank Rate is set by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, which publishes each decision. The BIS records the rate in force at the end of each month, so a change part-way through a month shows in that month.
Compare any two countries on GDP, inflation, unemployment, debt and life expectancy: country comparison tool.
These pages state each body's figures and the UK's position among them. They give no view on whether a figure is high or low. To report an error, send a correction request.