Debt can have a significant impact on people’s daily lives. With the ongoing economic uncertainty surrounding the cost of living crisis, many people are looking at consolidating their debt, whether through personal loans, balance transfer credit cards or remortgaging, and lowering the interest they’re paying. We explore the latest personal debt statistics in the UK.
Debt statistics UK: Highlights
The average debt per person in the UK is estimated to be £34,737 as of November 2023, more than 100% of average yearly earnings in the UK.
The average credit card debt per person in the UK is £1,295 as of November 2023.
The average credit card debt per household in 2023 is £2,452, the highest in 4 years.
The average total household debt in the UK is £65,795 as of November 2023.
The annual interest accumulated on debt has increased by 59% between November 2021 and November 2023, going from an average of £841 to £1,341 per person.
The Citizens Advice Bureau helped 46,690 people with debt in November 2023.
22% of those sought advice for energy debt and 20% sought help with council tax arrears.
What is the average debt per person in the UK?
The average debt per person in the UK is £34,737 as of November 2023, which has risen by £2,797 since November 2020. This debt is equivalent to 100.5% of the average UK yearly earnings. The average debt for a household in the same period is recorded as £65,795.
The average credit card debt per person is £1,295 as of November 2023, the highest since November 2019. This has increased by 7.65% year-on-year. For a UK household, the average credit card debt totals £2,452.
Month
Average credit card debt per person
Average credit card debt per household
November 2023
£1,295
£2,452
November 2022
£1,203
£2,290
November 2021
£1,099
£2,118
November 2020
£1,122
£2,133
November 2019
£1,367
£2,591
What is the total personal debt in the UK?
Total personal debt in the UK reached £1.85 trillion in November 2023, and this number has been growing steadily over time. The debt owed in the UK has increased by around 11% since November 2019, up from a total of £1.67 billion.
The total credit card debt in the UK was £68.9 billion in November 2023, growing by £5.3 billion from November 2022. The total credit card debt owed in the UK has fluctuated over time, but is lower than November 2019, when UK residents owed a total of £72.1 billion in credit card debt.
What is the average interest paid on debt in the UK?
As of November 2023, the average Brit accumulated £1,341 in interest over a year. This has increased by 59% since November 2021, when the average annual interest was just £841, showing the impact of rising interest rates.
Indeed, the UK as a whole accumulated £71.3 billion in interest annually as of November 2023, compared to £44.5 billion in November 2021.
How many people are insolvent or bankrupt?
In the period between August and October 2023, 279 were declared insolvent or bankrupt each day in England and Wales. This is the equivalent of one person every 5 minutes and 9 seconds. Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, there were 4 insolvencies per day and, in Scotland, there were 22.3 insolvencies per day.
How many people are in debt in the UK?
The Citizens Advice Bureau helped 46,690 people with debt in November 2023. This is the highest number seeking advice since 2018 and the numbers have increased since May 2020 after dipping during the coronavirus pandemic, likely due to more limited access to services.
What are the most common types of debt?
Among those seeking debt advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau, the most common source of debt was energy bills in November 2023, with 22% needing help with this. This was followed by council tax arrears, as 20% sought advice in this area.
Other common reasons for seeking debt advice include rent arrears (14%), credit card debt (11%), water debt (9%) and mortgage debt (2%).
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.
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 a country’s government due to 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 GDP ratio to levels last seen in the early 1960s.
Compared to public sector debt of 34.2% in 2007/08 (pre-financial crash).
Emily Herring is a Publisher at Finder specialising in credit-based products including credit cards and business and personal loans. Emily has a Masters in Creative Writing & Publishing and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication & Media.
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