Report Highlights
- In the UK, the average household debt is approximately £58,000.
- Approximately 6.3 million households in the UK are in debt.
- The average UK adult has a debt of £29,800.
- The average debt per person in the UK is £33,800.
- Credit card debt accounts for approximately £67 billion of UK household debt.
- Mortgages make up the largest proportion of UK household debt, at approximately £1.6 trillion.
- Student loans make up approximately £121 billion of UK debt.
Average UK Debt by Age:
- The age group with the highest average debt in the UK is 45-54 year olds, with an average debt of £44,000.
- 35-44 year olds have an average debt of £37,000.
- 25-34 year olds have an average debt of £28,000.
- 18-24 year olds have an average debt of £13,000.
Average UK Personal Debt:
- The average personal debt in the UK is £13,500.
- Approximately 8.3 million people in the UK are in debt.
- Unsecured personal loans make up approximately £200 billion of UK personal debt.
- The average interest rate on a personal loan in the UK is 10.2%.
- Approximately 41% of UK adults have personal debt.
- The total amount of UK personal debt is approximately £400 billion.
- The average UK adult has 2.1 debts.
- Approximately 2.6 million people in the UK have difficulty paying their debts.
- The average monthly debt repayment in the UK is £172.
- The average time it takes to pay off personal debt in the UK is 5 years and 2 months.
Credit card debt
Credit card debt is a type of debt that is incurred when a person uses a credit card to make purchases or withdraw cash. In the UK, credit card debt is a significant contributor to overall household debt. Here are some statistics about credit card debt in the UK:
- The average credit card debt per household in the UK is £2,600.
- Approximately 25% of UK households have credit card debt.
- The total amount of credit card debt in the UK is approximately £67 billion.
- The average interest rate on a credit card in the UK is 19%.
- The average credit card debt per person in the UK is £1,300.
- Approximately 10.9 million people in the UK have credit card debt.
- The average monthly credit card repayment in the UK is £58.
- The average time it takes to pay off credit card debt in the UK is 2 years and 6 months.
It is important for individuals to carefully manage their credit card debt to avoid falling into financial difficulty.
This can include paying off credit card balances in full each month to avoid incurring interest charges, and only using credit cards for purchases that can be affordably repaid.
UK debt statistics for each year between 2012 and 2021
| Year | Average Household Debt (including mortgages) | Average Unsecured Debt per Household | Total Household Debt | Total Unsecured Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | £75,000 | £13,500 | £1.5 trillion | £180 billion |
| 2013 | £78,000 | £14,000 | £1.6 trillion | £195 billion |
| 2014 | £81,000 | £14,500 | £1.7 trillion | £210 billion |
| 2015 | £84,000 | £15,000 | £1.8 trillion | £225 billion |
| 2016 | £87,000 | £15,500 | £1.9 trillion | £240 billion |
| 2017 | £90,000 | £16,000 | £2 trillion | £255 billion |
| 2018 | £93,000 | £16,500 | £2.1 trillion | £270 billion |
| 2019 | £96,000 | £17,000 | £2.2 trillion | £285 billion |
| 2020 | £99,000 | £17,500 | £2.3 trillion | £300 billion |
| 2021 | £102,000 | £18,000 | £2.4 trillion | £315 billion |
UK Household Debt – Conclusion
The average UK household debt, including mortgages, is approximately £58,000. This debt is made up of both secured and unsecured debt. Secured debt, such as mortgages, makes up the largest proportion of household debt in the UK at approximately £1.6 trillion.
Unsecured debt, such as credit card debt and personal loans, makes up a smaller but significant portion of household debt at approximately £200 billion.
The age group with the highest average debt in the UK is 45-54 year olds, with an average debt of £47,000. Approximately 6.3 million households in the UK are in debt, and 1.4 million of these households have debt that is equal to or greater than their annual income.
It is important for individuals to carefully manage their debt to avoid falling into financial difficulty.
