Updated: June 12, 2023
Financial statistics 2020
We’ve created this hub of financial statistics to pique your interest and see how the economic climate has changed over the years.
Read on to find out which countries have the most amount of debt, which regions have the most amount of personal debt and how much the UK is saving for the future.
At Online Money Advisor, our aim is to make sure everyone gets the right advice for their financial needs. For more information about these statistics, please get in touch at [email protected]
Personal loans by region – unsecured loans
An unsecured loan is a type of debt that is not protected by an asset (such as a car or property) or a guarantor.
Personal debt shot up for all regions by 2015 and inclined for most until 2017 where debt across the regions began to drop. While London had the highest rate of personal debt, the East Midlands came a close second. The region with the least amount of debt is the North East.
Mortgage debt – secured loans
A secured loan is a type of debt which is linked to your personal property (such as home or car). You can typically take out larger amounts compared with an unsecured loan.
London takes the crown for mortgage debt by region, however, it’s the East Midlands that really stands out in this graph. Mortgage debt rose from 134,035,054,407 in 2013 to almost £500 million in 2014 – that’s an increase of more than 3.5%, though this dropped significantly in 2015 and has maintained its levels of mortgage debt since.
World debt – top 10 and bottom 10 countries
Country | Percent of GDP % | Debt in national currency (Billions) | Debt in Pounds £ |
Japan | 236.388 | 1291834 | 9,199,150,910,940.00 |
Greece | 181.906 | 323 | 278,660,633,100.14 |
Lebanon | 152.846 | 118565 | 60,904,142,742.65 |
Yemen | 141.014 | 7450 | 23,139,348,677.34 |
Italy | 131.454 | 2256 | 1,944,396,591,300.00 |
Portugal | 125.619 | 242 | 209,084,299,290.00 |
United States | 107.785 | 20900 | 16,250,125,701,200.00 |
Jamaica | 104.074 | 1963 | 10,963,352,089.20 |
Mozambique | 102.243 | 820 | 10,118,033,874.02 |
Spain | 98.364 | 1144 | 986,572,911,640.32 |
United Kingdom | 87.029 | 1773 | 6,036,890.62 |
Albania | 71.244 | 1115 | 7,799,163,253.52 |
China | 47.79 | 38807 | 4,324,359,375,448.00 |
Algeria | 25.802 | 5105 | 33,105,767,887.41 |
Country | Percent of GDP % | Debt in national currency (Billions) | Debt in Pounds £ |
Saudi Arabia | 17.289 | 443 | 91,973,233,304.89 |
Kuwait | 20.641 | 7 | 19,212,763,792.50 |
Nigeria | 23.401 | 26889 | 57,861,223,724.54 |
Bulgaria | 23.927 | 23 | 10,404,093,534.74 |
Peru | 25.507 | 179 | 41,677,187,311.62 |
Algeria | 25.802 | 5105 | 33,105,767,887.41 |
Nepal | 27.15 | 705 | 4,840,038,113.05 |
Turkey | 28.482 | 882 | 119,607,688,905.00 |
Bangladesh | 32.414 | 6404 | 58,732,534,964.82 |
Islamic Republic of Iran | 40.866 | 6036890 | 111,529,139,448.25 |
The United States has the most amount of debt in the world with more than £16 trillion, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of 107.785%. GDP is defined as the ‘total monetary value of goods and services produced in an economy during a monetary year’ and represents the country’s economic health. So, while Japan’s GDP of 236.388 seems too high, most of the debt is owned by its citizens and suggests economic growth.
Contactless payments vs chip and pin vs cash
Payment method | Number of payments completed (millions) |
Contactless | 6326 |
Chip and pin | 8772 |
Cash | 10980 |
Direct debit overtook cash in 2017 as the most frequently used payment method, with nearly 4 in 10 payments in 2018. The number of contactless payments made in the UK also increased this year to 19% and is expected to reach 31% by 2028. Cash payments, while falling from 60% in 2008 to 28% in 2018, had a larger total payment volume (value of payments) of 10,980 million, while contactless was 6326 million.
Benefit fraud
Continuously reviewed | Rate | Value |
Housing Benefit | 4.60% | £1,020m |
Pension Credit | 3.50% | £190m |
Employment and Support Allowance | 2.20% | £330m |
Jobseeker’s Allowance | 4.30% | £70m |
Universal Credit | 4.70% | £150m |
Personal Independence Payment | 1.20% | £100m |
Occasionally reviewed | ||
Income Support | 2.40% | £50m |
Incapacity Benefit | 0.30% | £0m |
Disability Living Allowance | 0.50% | £50m |
State Pension | 0.00% | £0m |
Carer’s Allowance | 3.90% | £110m |
Interdependencies | £10m | |
Unreviewed | 0.80% | £100m |
Total | 1.20% | £2.2bn |
Housing benefit is most likely to be the product of fraud in the UK, with a rate of 4.6% and valued at £1020 million – far greater than any other types of fraud measured. For example, universal credit come may have a higher rate of fraud committed at 4.7%, the total worth is just £150. The fraud value for employment and Support Allowance, on the other hand, is £330m, but the rate of fraud is very low in comparison with this figure at £20.2m.
Bankruptcy per quarter per year
The number of bankruptcies hit a staggering figure in 2009 at 74,670, suggesting that many felt the effects after the financial crash. This figure fell to 15,044 in 2018, though the number of bankruptcies once again rose in 2018 to 16,602.
Insurance claims by type
Insurance type | No. of claims |
Protection insurance policies | 129,000 |
Travel insurance | 494,000 |
Overall, travel insurance had almost 3.5x as many claims as protection insurance policies, with 494,000 travel insurance claims compared with 129,000 protection insurance claims.
Government pension vs private pension
Private pensions | Occupational pension | Personal pension |
Single pensioners | 54% | 12% |
Pensioner couples | 70% | 27% |
All pensioners | 62% | 19% |
There were 13 million recipients of State Pension in February 2018 – 7 million of those women, and almost 6 million of them men. 62% of pensioners receive their occupational pension, though only 19% are likely to receive a personal pension. Pensioner couples are most likely to receive a personal pension at 27%, compared with only 12% of single pensioners.
Household weekly spend
The average weekly household spend has not seen a significant increase since 2001. In fact, UK households were spending on average £28 less in 2011, with £532.50 versus £560.50 in 2001. By 2018, household spending had increased to around £572.6 per household.
Car finance
Year | Total volume | Percentage change |
2013 | 1.71 million | 0.18 |
2014 | 1.94 million | 0.13 |
2015 | 2.13 million | 0.1 |
2016 | 2.3 million | 0.08 |
2017 | 2.35 million | 0.02 |
April 2018* | 2.41 million | 0.02 |
The number of car finance contracts has been steadily increasing per year, with 2.4 million cars purchased in 2018 compared with 1.71 million cars bought in 2011. However, the percentage change for 2017 and 2018 was only an increase of 0.02% in contrast with 2011’s increase of 0.18%.
Savings – cash, ISAs, etc.
Number of accounts subscribed in current year (thousands)
Year | Cash | Stocks & shares |
2015/16 | 10,118 | 2,539 |
2016/17 | 8,480 | 2,589 |
2017/18 | 7,783 | 2,835 |
Total amount subscribed to Adult ISA accounts
Year | Cash (millions) |
Stocks & shares (millions)
|
2015-16 | £58,694 | £21,129 |
2016-17 | £39,191 | £22,325 |
2017-18 | £39,801 | £28,702 |
Average amount subscribed to Adult ISA accounts
Year | Cash | Stocks & shares |
2015-16 | £5,801 | £8,322 |
2016-17 | £4,622 | £8,623 |
2017-18 | £5,114 | £10,124 |
In the tax year 2015/16, adults in the UK opened 10,118 cash ISAs worth £58,694 million and 2,539 stocks and shares ISAs worth £21,129m. By 2017/18, the number of cash ISAs fell to a value of £39,801 with just 7,783 opened, while stocks and shares increased to 2,835 – a value of £28,702 million.
PPI statistics
Year | PPI refunds and compensation paid |
2019 | £2,433,202,573 |
2018 | £4,434,600,700 |
2017 | £3,360,233,354 |
2016 | £3,623,757,361 |
2015 | £4,475,990,873 |
2014 | £4,477,223,720 |
2013 | £5,219,901,491 |
2012 | £6,278,972,550 |
2011 | £2,137,149,217 |
PPI refunds and compensation paid was at a high in 2012 at £6,278,972,550, in comparison to £2,433,202,573 in 2019. In July 2019 alone, a total of £432.9 million was paid to customers, taking the amount paid since January 2011 to £36.4 billion.
Income split across the UK
The UK’s gross disposable household income (GDHI) was valued at 1,288,702 in 2017, though this income is split depending on which region. For example, London came in at a total of £245,555, while Northern Ireland had the lowest amount of disposable income at £29,583.