Advertiser Disclosure

Think the US Is Bad? People in These 9 Countries Have Way More Debt

July 19, 2025

2 min Read

Written by Nicole Spector

Edited by Molly Sullivan

Canada and United States two flags together realations textile cloth fabric texture stock photo

Oleksii Liskonih / iStock.com

Commitment to Our Readers

GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.

20 Years
Helping You Live Richer

Reviewed
by Experts

Trusted by
Millions of Readers

In the U.S. it’s more common than not to carry a boatload of debt. As of the third quarter of 2024, Americans owed $17.57 trillion in total debt — up 2.4% year over year, according to Experian data. Even spread over hundreds of millions of people, it’s a lot of debt: $58,215.12 for the average household, according to a new study by QuickLoan Pte Ltd.

But the U.S. isn’t the only country with a serious debt issue among its citizens. The study analyzed household debt data across multiple countries to find which nations live most on credit and where debt-to-income ratios pose the greatest financial risks. The U.S. came in 10th, based on loan-to-income ratio, as it has a loan-to-income ratio of 112.21%. Below are the nine countries where the burden of household debt is even greater.