Household Debt: Key Economic Indicators

Household debt as a % of disposable income

Household debt peaked in Q2 2008 at 151.5% of household disposable income. It then declined to 128.4% by late 2015.

Growth in household debt levels accelerated from early 2016, so that the debt-to-income ratio rose again to 133.4% by mid-2017. In Q4 2021 it was 131.0%.

Statistical note: The household debt and income source data were changed in May 2019. Previously debt and income totals included the non-profit sector (mostly charities and universities). The new data reflects only individuals in the household sector. The overall historical trends are unchanged. For more see Box 1 in the Library paper on household debt.

Current average mortgage interest rates

The average Standard Variable Rate (SVR) was 4.1% in April 2022, up 0.49 percentage points on a year ago.

The average 2-year fixed mortgage rate was 2.35% in April 2022, up 0.86 percentage points on a year ago.   

Individual insolvencies, England and Wales

There were 32,305 individual insolvencies in England and Wales in Q1 2022, 4,637 more than in the previous quarter. The largest increase since the current series began in 2010 was seen between Q2 2020 and Q3 2020.

The Q1 2022 level is 14.2% higher than the level in Q1 2021.

In Scotland, there were 1,894 individual insolvencies in Q1 2022, 13% more than the year before.

In Northern Ireland, there were 434 individual insolvencies in Q1 2022, down 2% on the year.