Eurostat Shows Dutch Households Owe 93.5% of GDP as Northern Europe Tops EU Debt Map
Updated
Updated · Euronews · Jul 21
Eurostat Shows Dutch Households Owe 93.5% of GDP as Northern Europe Tops EU Debt Map
2 articles · Updated · Euronews · Jul 21
Summary
EU household debt stood at 49.4% of GDP in 2025, but Eurostat's latest figures show the heaviest borrowing is concentrated in wealthy northern and western countries rather than southern Europe.
Seven EU countries exceed the European Commission's 55% of GDP risk marker, and all are in the north or west; the Netherlands leads at 93.5%, followed by Denmark at 84.1% and Sweden at 82.3%.
Southern economies linked to past sovereign-debt crises sit well below the EU average, with Italy at 35.9%, Greece at 38.0% and Spain at 42.9%, pointing to more conservative household borrowing.
The gap largely reflects housing-finance systems: high-debt countries tend to have deep mortgage markets, tax incentives or variable-rate exposure, while debt can still amplify downturns despite falling from above 60% EU-wide in 2020.