Economic Commentary: How indebted are Swedish households?

Swedish household debt in relation to disposable income is higher than previous studies have shown. It follows from the new data that the Riksbank has collected.

Among other results, an analysis of the data shows that households in general are highly indebted in relation to their incomes – and this applies above all to low and middle-income earners. It also shows that four out of ten borrowers are not reducing their debts - and that those who are reducing them are doing so very slowly.

Swedish households' debts have grown substantially in recent years and the Riksbank has emphasised, in various contexts, the risk this entails for both macroeconomic development and financial stability.

The Riksbank has now collected data on Swedish borrowers. This makes it possible to carry out better analyses of the allocation of households' debts than have been practical in recent years, when analyses were largely based on aggregate data and random samples of new borrowers. Using this approach, it was not possible to analyse the allocation of debt among individuals and households who actually had debts.

This Economic Commentary presents statistics showing how debts are allocated by income group, age group and geographical area, among other things, and how they have developed over time.

Read the Economic Commentary.