Ranked: The World’s Household Debt by Country

Ranked: The World’s Household Debt by Country

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Global household debt has climbed to $65.3 trillion, with borrowing increasingly concentrated in two countries: the U.S. and China.

The U.S. alone accounts for $21.2 trillion in household debt, driven largely by mortgages, credit cards, and auto loans. China ranks second at $12.3 trillion after a decades-long credit expansion tied closely to its housing boom, according to data from the Institute of International Finance.

The data also highlights striking regional contrasts. Canada now carries nearly as much household debt as Germany despite having less than half the population, while several Asia-Pacific economies rank among the world’s most leveraged households.

America’s Outsized Debt Load

Despite having just 4% of the global population, the U.S. holds nearly one out of every three dollars of household debt worldwide. Much of this debt is tied to mortgages, reflecting high home values and the central role housing plays in the American economy.

The table below shows which countries carry the world’s largest household debt burdens and how much each contributes to the $65.3 trillion global total.

Rank	Country	Household Debt Q1 2026	Global Share
1	U.S.	$21.2T	32.4%
2	China	$12.3T	18.8%
3	UK	$3.0T	4.6%
4	Japan	$2.5T	3.9%
5	Germany	$2.5T	3.8%
6	Canada	$2.4T	3.6%
7	Australia	$2.3T	3.5%
8	France	$2.0T	3.1%
9	India	$1.6T	2.4%
10	South Korea	$1.5T	2.4%
11	Switzerland	$1.3T	2.1%
12	Netherlands	$1.3T	1.9%
13	Italy	$934B	1.4%
14	Brazil	$891B	1.4%
15	Spain	$835B	1.3%
16	Sweden	$599B	0.9%
17	Russia	$565B	0.9%
18	Thailand	$503B	0.8%
19	Norway	$497B	0.8%
20	Denmark	$430B	0.7%
21	Belgium	$421B	0.6%
22	Saudi Arabia	$404B	0.6%
23	Hong Kong	$366B	0.6%
24	Mexico	$360B	0.6%
25	Malaysia	$353B	0.5%
26	Israel	$287B	0.4%
27	Singapore	$275B	0.4%
28	Austria	$247B	0.4%
29	New Zealand	$234B	0.4%
30	Poland	$232B	0.4%
31	Indonesia	$218B	0.3%
32	Finland	$200B	0.3%
33	Portugal	$193B	0.3%
34	Ireland	$178B	0.3%
35	UAE	$160B	0.2%
36	South Africa	$153B	0.2%
37	Chile	$152B	0.2%
38	Türkiye	$151B	0.2%
39	Colombia	$131B	0.2%
40	Czech Rep.	$128B	0.2%
41	Vietnam	$112B	0.2%
42	Greece	$107B	0.2%
43	Slovakia	$69B	0.1%
44	Luxembourg	$66B	0.1%
45	Kuwait	$66B	0.1%
46	Kazakhstan	$57B	0.1%
47	Romania	$52B	0.1%
48	Philippines	$51B	0.1%
49	Hungary	$49B	0.1%
50	Peru	$45B	0.1%
51	Bulgaria	$43B	0.1%
52	Nigeria	$41B	0.1%
53	Ecuador	$39B	0.1%
54	Morocco	$37B	0.1%
55	Costa Rica	$36B	0.1%
56	Argentina	$35B	0.1%
57	Croatia	$34B	0.1%
58	Bangladesh	$29B	0.04%
59	Egypt	$28B	0.04%
60	Oman	$26B	0.04%
61	Lithuania	$23B	0.04%
62	Cyprus	$22B	0.03%
63	Slovenia	$21B	0.03%
64	Dominican Republic	$19B	0.03%
65	Estonia	$18B	0.03%
66	Serbia	$18B	0.03%
67	Jordan	$15B	0.02%
68	Tunisia	$15B	0.02%
69	Malta	$14B	0.02%
70	Kenya	$13B	0.02%
71	Sri Lanka	$12B	0.02%
72	Bahrain	$12B	0.02%
73	Latvia	$10B	0.02%
74	Trinidad and Tobago	$9B	0.01%
75	Côte d’Ivoire	$9B	0.01%
76	Pakistan	$9B	0.01%
77	El Salvador	$7B	0.01%
78	Tanzania	$7B	0.01%
79	Mongolia	$6B	0.01%
80	Ethiopia	$6B	0.01%
81	Jamaica	$4B	0.01%
82	Ghana	$4B	0.01%
83	Mozambique	$2B	0.004%
84	Lao PDR	$2B	0.003%
85	Tajikistan	$2B	0.003%
86	Zambia	$2B	0.003%
87	Angola	$2B	0.003%
88	Rwanda	$2B	0.003%
89	Senegal	$2B	0.003%
90	Cameroon	$2B	0.003%
91	Maldives	$1B	0.002%
92	Papua New Guinea	$1B	0.002%
93	Benin	$1B	0.002%
94	Congo, Rep. of	$1B	0.001%
95	Grenada	$1B	0.001%
96	Gambia	$0B	0.0%

Credit cards, auto loans, and student debt also contribute to America’s massive household balance sheet. In 2025, U.S. credit card balances hit a record high of nearly $1.3 trillion.

While high household debt can support economic growth and consumer spending, it also leaves households more exposed to rising interest rates and housing market downturns. As borrowing costs have climbed, debt levels have become an increasingly important measure of financial vulnerability.

China’s 40x Debt Surge

China’s household debt story is relatively new compared to mature Western credit economies. Since 2006, household debt has soared from $277 billion to $12.3 trillion. As a share of GDP, it has climbed from 11% to 60%.

In the decade leading up to 2019, household debt expanded rapidly, largely driven by a property boom. This stretched household balance sheets, with mortgage loans rising to roughly one-third of GDP by 2023. With the property market now facing a prolonged slump, the estimated number of defaults has doubled over the past five years.

One key difference is that China’s household savings rate remains relatively high. Personal savings account for roughly 35% of disposable income across urban households, providing a potential financial buffer even as debt levels rise.

Ultimately, household debt is increasingly concentrated in a small number of major economies, with the U.S. and China alone accounting for more than half of the global total. As housing markets and consumer borrowing continue to drive economic growth, these debt levels are becoming one of the clearest indicators of financial vulnerability worldwide.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on how much people save around the world.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-worlds-household-debt-by-country-in-2026/