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I recently came across an interactive infographic for the U.K. about personal indebtedness and was shocked at many of the stats in regards to personal debt — e.g. the UK national average indebtedness being £54,197!

What is the equivalent of the figure for people in the U.S? What other notable differences are there between personal indebtedness in the U.S. vs in the UK (e.g. type/sources of debt?)

Chris W. Rea
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SarahWillis
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1 Answers1

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The figure you are quoting appears to be the personal debt per household. There are a number of comparable figures for the US there, and this seems to be one of the better ones. According to this analysis:

  • Total personal debt in the US is around $11.4 trillion. This includes mortgage debt
  • There are around 120 million households in the US
  • Giving an average personal debt per household of $97,500 (£58,000)

So Americans owe slightly more.

You don't say how the debt is divided in the UK, but in the US it is about:

  • 70% mortgage
  • 9% student loans
  • 8% credit card

There is some 'other'. The UK probably doesn't have as much student debt.

DJClayworth
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