10 Countries with the Highest Household Debt: Is Indonesia on the List?

According to Credit Suisse research, in 2021 global household wealth reached US$463.6 trillion, a 9.8% increase from the previous year. However, global household debt also increased.

"Global household debt rose by 9.7% in 2020 and increased further by 4.4% in 2021," stated Credit Suisse in the *Global Wealth Report 2022*.

"In the coming years, we expect household debt to continue growing in line with increasing financial and non-financial wealth, keeping the debt-to-total gross household assets ratio around 11%," it continued.

Of the approximately 170 countries researched, Switzerland had the highest average household debt per capita.

Credit Suisse estimated that in 2021, the average adult in Switzerland had a debt of US$151,230, or approximately Rp2.3 billion per person (assuming an exchange rate of Rp15,000/US$).

However, the average wealth of adults in Switzerland was also the highest globally, at US$696,600, or approximately Rp10.4 billion per person.

A similar pattern was found in Norway, Luxembourg, Australia, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United States, and Canada. Although the average debt of residents in these countries was over Rp1 billion, they had an average net worth ranging from Rp5 billion to Rp10 billion per person.

According to Credit Suisse, Indonesia ranked 103rd out of approximately 170 countries surveyed. The average Indonesian adult was estimated to have a debt of Rp16.8 million with an average net worth of Rp278 million per person.

Although significant on average, these debt and wealth figures would vary considerably when broken down by income group. Credit Suisse also emphasized that different segments of society have varying vulnerabilities to debt.

"The lowest wealth group is expected to be severely impacted by the pandemic. They lost their jobs or experienced reduced income, forcing them to deplete savings or incur significant debt," said Credit Suisse.

"On the other hand, the highest wealth group was relatively immune to the pandemic's impact. They actually benefited from low interest rates during the pandemic," it continued.