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Average student loan debt UK

All the statistics you need to know about student loans.

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By

Emily Herring

Updated

Fact checked

If you’re planning to attend university, you most likely need a student loan. While there are other types of loans for young people, most student loans are granted by the Student Loans Company (SLC). We look at how trends in average student loan debt and repayments have changed over time.

Quick overview

  • The average student loan debt in 2023 is £44,940 for students graduating from English universities.
  • Average UK student loan debt increased by 141% between 2013 and 2023.
  • Students in England repay an average of £92.50 a month, or £1,110 a year, in student loan debt as of 2023.
  • Just over a quarter (27%) of students starting in 2022/23 are expected to repay their loans in full.
  • Total student loan debt in the UK in 2023 is £227.5 billion, up 13% from 2022.
  • Total student loan debt in the UK increased by 265% between 2014 and 2023.
  • English students repaid 68% more in student loan debt than Scottish students on average in 2022/23.
  • 95% of eligible students took out a loan in 2020/21, compared to just 28% in 1990/91.
  • £20 billion is loaned to around 1.5 million students in England each year.

What is the average student loan debt in the UK?

The average student loan debt is £44,940 for students graduating from English universities in 2023. This has increased by 141% in 10 years, as the average student loan debt in 2013 was £18,620. The predicted student loan debt for students who started their course in 2022 is £45,600.

Student loan debt is lower in other UK nations, at £35,780 in Wales, £24,500 in Northern Ireland and just £15,430 in Scotland. This is likely due to lower university tuition fees in these countries.

Financial year England Wales Northern Ireland Scotland
2012-13 £18,620 £14,840 £16,800 £6,930
2013-14 £20,040 £17,240 £17,340 £7,490
2014-15 £21,160 £19,000 £18,040 £9,480
2015-16 £24,400 £15,970 £19,610 £10,410
2016-17 £32,330 £19,120 £20,840 £11,720
2017-18 £34,450 £21,440 £22,310 £13,200
2018-19 £35,670 £22,770 £23,250 £13,690
2019-20 £40,010 £24,860 £23,270 £13,930
2020-21 £44,740 £27,520 £24,440 £15,130
2021-22 £44,730 £33,560 £23,920 £14,770
2022-23 £44,940 £35,780 £24,500 £15,430

What is the average student loan payment in the UK?

In 2022/23, students paid back £1110 over the year on average, which equates to an average of £92.50 a month. This is up slightly from £870 in 2012/23, which meant students were paying £72.50 a month on average.

The average student loan repayments vary across UK regions, with Scottish students paying back the least in 2022/23 at £660 a year or £55 a month. English students are repaying 68% more than Scottish students on average. Welsh students paid back £990 in a year on average, while Northern Irish students paid £1060.

Financial year England Wales Northern Ireland Scotland
2010-11 £870 £770 £780 £670
2011-12 £890 £790 £800 £700
2012-13 £870 £770 £780 £680
2013-14 £870 £780 £780 £680
2014-15 £880 £780 £790 £680
2015-16 £910 £800 £800 £670
2016-17 £920 £800 £810 £650
2017-18 £950 £820 £840 £650
2018-19 £980 £840 £860 £660
2019-20 £920 £790 £830 £660
2020-21 £940 £800 £890 £690
2021-22 £990 £820 £950 £580
2022-23 £1,100 £900 £1,060 £660

What is the average interest rate on student loans?

Students repaying their loans until the end of August 2023 will pay a maximum of 7.1% interest if they graduated after 2012 or took out a postgraduate loan. This will rise to 7.3% in September 2023.

Students on other loan plans, including those who graduated before 2012 or in Scotland, will pay a maximum of 6% as of August 2023.

What is the total student loan debt in the UK?

Students in the UK owed £227.5 billion in student loan debt in 2022/23, up by 13% from £201.6 billion in 2021/22. The total value of student debt in the UK has seen a huge increase in the last decade and is 265% higher in 2022/23 than in 2013/14.

The government forecasts the value of outstanding loans to be around £460 billion in 2021/22 prices by the mid-2040s in England.

Year Total student debt UK (billions)
2013-14 £62
2014-15 £74
2015-16 £87
2016-17 £101
2017-18 £118
2018-19 £137
2019-20 £157
2020-21 £179
2021-22 £202
2022-23 £228

How much is loaned to students each year?

Currently, £20 billion is loaned to around 1.5 million students in England each year. This equates to an average of 13,333 per student per year.

What percentage of student loans are repaid in the UK?

The government expects that just over a quarter (27%) of full-time undergraduates starting in 2022/23 will repay their loans in full. However, with a new system being introduced in 2023 that extends the repayment period, three-fifths of undergraduates (61%) are predicted to repay.

How many students take out a student loan?

Tuition fees have increased over the years, and this has led to a higher uptake in student loans. While just 28% of eligible students took out a student loan in 1990, 95% of eligible students took one out in 2020. This means that approximately 1 in 20 eligible students who started in 2020 do not have a student loan.

Year Average loan for the year % of eligible taking loans
1990 £390 28%
2000 £2,900 78%
2010 £6,160 86%
2020 £15,030 95%

Sources

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