Americans aren’t the only people who’ve been running up debt

The WSJ has a story today about how the global credit crunch is pounding the UK economy. One passage caught my eye:

According to the most recent data from Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, total consumer debt in the U.K. stood at 164% of annual disposable income at the end of 2006, by far the highest level of any developed country. In the U.S., that number was 138%.

That sent me to the OECD’s website to see where other countries stood. I couldn’t find figure out how to get the 2006 numbers (and the folks in Paris have surely headed home for the night), but I did find a report (pdf!) with 2005 (and in a couple cases 2004) numbers:

Household debt as a percentage of disposable income
Denmark 260%
Netherlands 246%
New Zealand 181%
Australia 173%
United Kingdom 159%
Ireland 141%
United States 135%
Sweden 134%
Japan 132%
Canada 126%
Germany 107%
Spain 107%
Finland 89%
France 89%
Italy 59%

So the U.S. is just middle-of-the-road among wealthy nations as far as consumer indebtedness goes. I’m not sure whether I find that reassuring or disturbing.

Apple CEO Cook Gives Up $75M in Stock Dividends

NEW YORK — Apple CEO Tim Cook is giving up $75 million in dividends on restricted stock that the company is awarding to all of its employees.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, Apple Inc. said that Cook requested that his restricted stock units not receive dividends. The dividends that Apple workers are getting amount to $2.65 per quarter for each restricted stock unit held. The shares are not normally eligible to receive dividends, so Apple’s decision is a perk for its employees.

Corey

But is it good debt or bad debt?

I’m in hock for my Ph.D…pretty bad hock.

Then there’s my house…which is an investment as well…sorta…well…real estate used to be.
Caneton

Surprising list. Do you know to what extent the countries at the top subsidize home ownership? Or are mortgages not included in consumer debt?
Justin Fox

Mortgages are included in the household debt totals. Denmark and the Netherlands do both have mortgage interest tax deductions, but I don’t think they’re any more generous than in the U.S. I’m pretty sure the UK and Australia got rid of their mortgage interest deductions a few years ago.

So what’s the cause? I do know that in the Netherlands at least, real estate is seriously expensive. For the same reason that it’s expensive in the San Francisco Bay area–there aren’t many places left to build, and the local authorities aren’t what you’d call pro-development. I wouldn’t be surprised if the debt/income ratio for the Bay area is 300+%. Which doesn’t mean people in the Bay area are worse off than those in, say, Youngstown, Ohio, where the houses cost one-tenth as much.
Corey

Iiiiiinteresting.

So the Netherlands high debt to income ratio may reflect housing costs more than anything else. Given what little I know, that seems to me to be more along the lines of “good” debt as opposed to bad debt like credit cards or car loans.
That Anonymous Dude

To confirm JF: UK got rid of the mortgage subsidy around 97 or 98ish…I was there
That Anonymous Dude

oh ya and london is seriously expensive too..when I moved back i traded a 985 sq ft apartment for a 2400sq ft + unfinished basement house in NY, both in the inner outer burbs of the metro area. Price differential – about $100k 3 years ago – at current rates they’d prob cost about the same..

And wages are typically lower than in US. My father always used to be amazed when he visited when he would look at the jobs listed in the window at the temp agencies/job markets and the house prices next door.
SpotWeld

I wonder how the various average interest rates on those debts differ from country to country.
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Seems like bubble may be getting ready to burst…

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Opps. unbelievable, this much of variations in Global world debt rates, how a country can survive with lower economy. Many of my friends often talk about good debt consolidation company, i realize now. why they need it so much and curious to know about.
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Thank you for the heads up.
But you didn’t mentioned Zimbabw, in current situation this country has the most unstable economy. Inflation rates in thousands of counts.
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