Household debt service by country
Every economy Bullrun holds a reading for: 17 in all, ranked highest first. Norway is the highest at 20.9% and Italy the lowest at 4.2%; the median is 8.0%. Each row carries its own period and source, because these providers publish on different calendars - two rows in this table can be more than a year apart.
- Economies covered17
- Highest20.9% Norway
- Lowest4.2% Italy
- Median8.0%
Household debt service by country, ranked
| # | Economy | Debt service / income | Band | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | 20.9% | Highest | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 2 | Australia | 15.7% | Highest | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 3 | Canada | 14.0% | High | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 4 | Netherlands | 13.1% | High | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 5 | Denmark | 11.9% | High | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 6 | South Korea | 11.5% | High | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 7 | Sweden | 11.4% | High | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 8 | United Kingdom | 8.8% | Moderate | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 9 | United States | 8.0% | Moderate | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 10 | Japan | 7.5% | Moderate | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 11 | Finland | 7.4% | Moderate | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 12 | Belgium | 7.1% | Moderate | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 13 | France | 6.0% | Moderate | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 14 | Portugal | 5.9% | Moderate | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 15 | Germany | 5.4% | Moderate | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 16 | Spain | 5.1% | Moderate | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
| 17 | Italy | 4.2% | Low | 2026-Q1 | BIS |
How the scale reads
| Band | What it means | Economies |
|---|---|---|
| < 5% | Low | 1 |
| 5 to 10% | Moderate | 9 |
| 10 to 15% | High | 5 |
| 15%+ | Highest | 2 |
These are the same bands that shade the map on the Global Markets dashboard, so a country's colour there and its band here always agree.
What this measures
Household interest and principal payments as a percentage of disposable income, for the 17 economies the BIS estimates. These are approximations built on assumptions about loan maturity and rate pass-through, so a change within one country over time is far more informative than a comparison of levels between two. The bands describe the size of the ratio only: there is no universal crisis threshold for this measure, and the Basel credit-gap thresholds do not apply to it.
Source: BIS debt service ratio statistics, quarterly. Coverage differs from metric to metric because these providers cover different sets of economies, and a gap is left as a gap rather than filled from a proxy - an absent economy is one we hold no reading for, never a zero. See the data license.
Other metrics by country
Global markets dashboard · Every economy scored · Screen stocks by country