Australia has taken the infamous first place at the list of countries with highest household indebtedness, with the value of their debt exceeding the gross domestic product.
Calculated per capita, the Australians already surpassed the USA in the household debt for real estate mortgages, loans and credit cards, according to the Australia’s central bank data. Every adult American owes to financial institutions on average 44.000 USD, whereas an adult Australian must repay up to 56.000 USD. This debt is comprised of housing loans as much as 90 %, and the remainder goes to debts from other loans and credit cards.
The research company Fujitsu Consulting estimates that up to 39 % of the income of an average Australian household is used for servicing these debts, interests and other charges related to them. With the cost of borrowing set to rise as soon as January 2010, the burden of debt servicing is going to get even more onerous for Australian households.