Debt statistics UK
How much debt is the UK in?
Debt can have a significant impact on people’s lives and on a country’s development as well. With the ongoing economic uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, many people are looking at consolidating their debt, whether through secured loans, balance transfer credit cards or remortgaging – and lowering the interest they’re paying. We explore how much debt the UK is in, both as a country and as individuals. Is the UK out of its depth or staying above water?
Quick overview
How much debt is the UK in?
- £1,685 billion is owed by individuals in the UK (September 2020).
- On average every Brit spent £865 on interest alone last year.
- 280 people are declared bankrupt every day in the UK (August to October 2020).
- £31,798 average debt per adult in the UK (August 2020).
- There is over £1.95 trillion public sector debt in the UK (May 2020).
- This is equal to 100% of gross domestic product (GDP) – the first time that debt as a percentage of GDP has exceeded 100% since the financial year ending March 1963.
110%
Average debt of £31,798 per adult, is 110% of average earnings
Personal debt statistics
Personal debt is the money owed by individuals. It could be from a mortgage, credit card, for example. We looked into how much is owed by the UK population. In August 2020, people in the UK owed £1.685 trillion. This is up by £23.4 billion from £1.669 trillion at the end of September 2019, an extra £441 per UK adult over the year.
Year | Total debt (trillion) |
---|---|
2020 | £1.685 |
2019 | £1.669 |
2018 | £1.616 |
2017 | £1.566 |
2016 | £1.512 |
2015 | £1.458 |
2014 | £1.463 |
2013 | £1.432 |
2012 | £1.420 |
How much interest is being paid on debt?
These stats show just how much interest is costing the UK.
- Total interest payments on personal debt is over £45.4 billion based on August 2020 trends.
- Borrowers paid £124 million in interest a day in September 2020.
- Per household that is an average of £1,630 in annual interest repayments alone.
- Per person that is an average of £857 a year in interest repayments.
3%
Annual interest repayments of £857 represents 3% of average earnings
How big is consumer credit lending in the UK?
Consumer credit lending is the amount of borrowing done on credit – but can we afford to pay it back?
- £206.7 billion outstanding consumer credit lending at the end of August.
- This is a decrease of £10.9 billion since September 2019.
- Total credit card debt in August 2020 was £61.4 billion, a 15.1% decrease in the year.
- Per household this is £2,204 of credit card debt alone.
25 years and 4 months
To pay back average credit card debt bearing the average interest, at the minimum repayment each month, it would take 25 years and 4 months
Consumer credit lending in the UK from 2012–2020
Year (November) | Debt (billion) |
---|---|
2020 | £206.7 |
2019 | £225.3 |
2018 | £215.4 |
2017 | £205.8 |
2016 | £192.19 |
2015 | £178.15 |
2014 | £168.8 |
2013 | £158.9 |
2012 | £156.0 |
How big of a problem is debt to individuals in the UK?
- 280 people are declared insolvent or bankrupt every day.
- Citizens Advice dealt with 1,960 new debt problems every day in the year (to September 2020).
- 14 properties are repossessed every day (Q4 2019). In 2020 (Q2), one property per day was possessed, but this number is low due to the pandemic-related moratorium on forced possessions.
- 3,413 people a day reported they had become redundant between July and September (2020).
5 minutes
Every 5 minutes a person is declared insolvent/bankrupt in the UK
National debt statistics
National debt is the debt owed by the government of a country, as a result of a budget deficit. This is where government spending exceeds government revenue, often resulting in government borrowing.
- Public sector debt is calculated at £2.076 trillion in October 2020.
- UK GDP is over £2 trillion.
- The extra funding required to support government coronavirus support schemes combined with reduced cash receipts and a fall in gross domestic product (GDP) have all helped push public sector net debt as a ratio of GDP to levels last seen in the early 1960s.
- Compared to public sector debt of 34.2% in 2007/08 (pre-financial crash).
Year | Public sector net debt as a percentage of GDP |
---|---|
October 2020 | 100.8% |
2019/20 | 86% |
2018/19 | 80.7% |
2017/18 | 82.4% |
2016/17 | 82.9% |
2015/16 | 79.9% |
2014/15 | 80.5% |
2013/14 | 78.1% |
2012/13 | 76.2% |
2011/12 | 72.9% |
2010/11 | 69.3% |
2009/10 | 62.9% |
How does this debt compare to other countries?
This level of debt may seem worryingly high, but how does the UK compare to other countries around the world?
- Japan has the highest level of debt as a percentage of GDP, at 266%.
- Sudan has a debt of 259% of its GDP.
- The UK sits 16th in the world for highest debt/GDP ratio.
Debt interest
Borrowing money often incurs interest, even as a government. So how much is interest on the national debt costing the UK?
- In 2018/19, £48.7 billion was spent on interest repayments.
- This amounts to 2.3% of the UK’s GDP.
- 2017/18 represented the largest interest repayment of £55 billion.
Year | Debt interest payments (gross, £ billion) | As a percentage of GDP |
---|---|---|
2009/10 | £31.8 | 2% |
2010/11 | £46.8 | 2.9% |
2011/12 | £49.8 | 3% |
2012/13 | £49 | 2.8% |
2013/14 | £48.8 | 2.7% |
2014/15 | £45.5 | 2.4% |
2015/16 | £45.1 | 2.3% |
2016/17 | £48.7 | 2.4% |
2017/18 | £55 | 2.6% |
2018/19 | £48.8 | 2.3% |
2019/20* | £51.1 | 2.3% |
2020/21* | £48.7 | 2.1% |
2021/22* | £49.3 | 2.1% |
2022/23* | £49.2 | 2% |
2023/24* | £49.7 | 2% |
Figures from 2019/20 onwards are forecasted
Sources used
- IMF
- ONS
- The Money Charity
- OBR
Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact:
Matt Mckenna
Head of UK communications
T: +44 20 8191 8806
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