Household Debt-to-GDP Ratio
Household Debt-to-GDP Ratio by country
Commentary
Notable countries
The lowest household debt-to-GDP ratios are clustered at just 3% in Somalia, South Sudan, and Venezuela, followed by several other African countries at 4-5%. At the other end, Switzerland stands out with the highest ratio at 130.9%, ahead of Australia (111.5%), South Korea (104.8%), Denmark (103.9%), and Canada (103.1%). A notable surprise is that many of the highest ratios are found in advanced economies, while the lowest values are concentrated in Africa plus Venezuela and Cuba.
Regional trends
Oceania has by far the highest continental average at 103.8%, well above Europe at 49.85% and Asia at 34.77%. North America sits close to the global mean at 29.29%, while South America is lower at 22.08% and Africa is the lowest at 10.48%. Overall, the regional pattern suggests much heavier household leverage in Oceania and parts of Europe, versus far lighter household debt burdens across Africa.
Data source
The data come from BIS/IMF/World Bank for 2022-2023 and are measured as household debt as a percentage of GDP. Coverage includes 159 countries. Because the figures span 2022-2023 rather than a single uniform year, cross-country comparisons should be read with that timing caveat in mind.
Interpretation
A higher household debt-to-GDP ratio means household borrowing is large relative to the size of the economy, which can signal greater financial vulnerability; lower values are better on this metric. Very low ratios may indicate limited household leverage, while very high ratios can point to stretched household balance sheets. The broad takeaway is that debt burdens vary enormously across countries, with a global mean of 30.49%, and the highest-risk readings concentrated in a relatively small group of economies.