Credit card debt in the United States has been growing at a fast pace between 2021 and 2025. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the overall amount of credit card debt reached its highest value throughout the timeline considered here. COVID-19 had a big impact on the indebtedness of Americans, as credit card debt decreased from *** billion U.S. dollars in the last quarter of 2019 to *** billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2021. What portion of Americans use credit cards? A substantial portion of Americans had at least one credit card in 2025. That year, the penetration rate of credit cards in the United States was ** percent. This number increased by nearly seven percentage points since 2014. The primary factors behind the high utilization of credit cards in the United States are a prevalent culture of convenience, a wide range of reward schemes, and consumer preferences for postponed payments. Which companies dominate the credit card issuing market? In 2024, the leading credit card issuers in the U.S. by volume were JPMorgan Chase & Co. and American Express. Both firms recorded transactions worth over one trillion U.S. dollars that year. Citi and Capital One were the next banks in that ranking, with the transactions made with their credit cards amounting to over half a trillion U.S. dollars that year. Those industry giants, along with other prominent brand names in the industry such as Bank of America, Synchrony Financial, Wells Fargo, and others, dominate the credit card market. Due to their extensive customer base, appealing rewards, and competitive offerings, they have gained a significant market share, making them the preferred choice for consumers.

The average consumer debt balance in the United States has peaked in 2024 at roughly ******* U.S. dollars. However, average consumer debt had decreased between 2010 and 2013, when it reached approximately ****** U.S. dollars. Here, consumer debt refers to student and car loans, credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, and other types of debt.

The average amount of non-mortgage debt held by consumers in the United States has been falling steadily during the past years, amounting to ****** U.S. dollars in 2023. While respondents had ****** U.S. dollars of debt in 2018, that volume decreased to ****** U.S. dollars in 2019, which constituted the largest year-over-year decrease.What age groups are more indebted in the U.S.?The age group with the highest level of consumer debt in the U.S. was belonging to the Generation X with approximately ******* U.S. dollars of debt in 2022. The next generations with high consumer debt levels were baby boomers and millennials, whose debt levels were similar. In comparison, credit card debt is more equally distributed across all ages. There is an exception among people under 35 years old, who are significantly less burdened with credit card debt. However, most consumers expect to get rid of their debt in the short term. College expenses as a source of debtEducational expenses were not among the leading sources of debt among consumers in the U.S. in 2022. Instead, they made up about ** percent of the total. However, around ** percent of undergraduates from lower-income families had student loans, while over a fifth of undergraduates from higher-income families had student loans. Independently of how they cover these expenses, the confidence of students and parents about being able to pay these college costs was high in most cases.

As of the last quarter of 2022, Alaska and Hawaii were the states in the U.S. with the highest credit card debt. While the average credit card debt in Alaska amounted to 4,430 U.S. dollars, people from Mississippi only had on average 2,450 U.S. dollars of credit card debt.

Graph and download economic data for Commercial Bank Interest Rate on Credit Card Plans, All Accounts (TERMCBCCALLNS) from Nov 1994 to May 2025 about consumer credit, credit cards, loans, consumer, interest rate, banks, interest, depository institutions, rate, and USA.

Commercial bank interest rates on credit card plans in the United States were over *** percent higher in early 2025 than in the same period in 2022. In February 2025, the interest amount on credit card plans amounted to ***** percent. Alongside this development, the overall amount of credit card debt in the U.S. reached an all-time high in Q4 2023. Credit cards are considered one of the most common ways to pay in the United States, so potential changes on credit card debt are closely tied to both the inflation figure and central bank interest rate of the country.

In the third quarter of 2022, households in the United States had, on average, ****** U.S. dollars of mortgage debt. That was the biggest component of their personal debt burden. The value per capita of car and student loans was much lower, but still contributed more to the level of household indebtedness than credit cards or HE revolving.

Credit bureaus and rating agencies in the US have experienced notable growth in recent years due to heightened demand for information. The reliance on data analytics has driven increased interest in these services, which provide vital information on creditworthiness for both individuals and businesses. This has been particularly significant as businesses and individuals seek to make well-informed financial decisions. Despite challenges related to the pandemic, inflation and high interest rates, the industry has thrived and profit has soared, indicating its resilience and the critical nature of the services it offers in a data-driven economy. While long-term demand for information has buoyed the industry, providers’ trajectory has been influenced by broader economic conditions, notably equity market fluctuations. The industry weathered initial pandemic-related disruptions, which precipitated a sharp fall in stock prices and corporate profit. Nonetheless, rapid fiscal and monetary responses bolstered investor confidence and led to a robust rebound in equity markets, contributing to massive revenue growth in 2020 and 2021. Soaring interest rates in 2022 and 2023 boosted recessionary fears among investors, hindering demand for equities, reducing stock prices and thus contributing to a major drop in revenue in 2022. These effects have percolated into the real economy as consumer and business borrowing has slowed, constraining aggregate household debt and corporate debt. These effects have negatively impacted the industry in 2023 and 2024, though a rebound in the stock market has prevented a major collapse in revenue. Overall, revenue for credit bureaus and rating agencies in the US is anticipated to soar at a CAGR of 4.3% over the past five years, reaching $16.4 billion in 2024. This includes a 1.3% drop in revenue in that year. Looking ahead, credit bureaus and rating agencies will face a more tempered growth trajectory over the next five years. The broad adoption of online services and data analytics has led to market saturation, reducing opportunities for exponential revenue growth. Nonetheless, stable economic growth and business formation should sustain a steady demand for credit reporting and rating services. The predicted slower growth in equity prices will moderate financial institutions' borrowing capacity, which will also contribute to the slowdown in revenue growth. Overall, revenue for credit bureaus and rating agencies in the United States is forecast to inch upward at a CAGR of 1.1% over the next five years, reaching $17.4 billion in 2029.

Bhutan BT: External Debt: Stocks: % of GNI data was reported at 115.016 % in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 125.139 % for 2021. Bhutan BT: External Debt: Stocks: % of GNI data is updated yearly, averaging 56.561 % from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2022, with 42 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 139.832 % in 2020 and a record low of 0.302 % in 1981. Bhutan BT: External Debt: Stocks: % of GNI data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Bhutan – Table BT.World Bank.WDI: External Debt: Debt Outstanding, Debt Ratio and Debt Service. Total external debt stocks to gross national income. Total external debt is debt owed to nonresidents repayable in currency, goods, or services. Total external debt is the sum of public, publicly guaranteed, and private nonguaranteed long-term debt, use of IMF credit, and short-term debt. Short-term debt includes all debt having an original maturity of one year or less and interest in arrears on long-term debt. GNI (formerly GNP) is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from abroad.;World Bank, International Debt Statistics.;Weighted average;

Graph and download economic data for Moody's Seasoned Baa Corporate Bond Yield (BAA) from Jan 1919 to Jun 2025 about Baa, bonds, yield, corporate, interest rate, interest, rate, and USA.

The value of the debt per adult in Europe in 2022 varied a lot from country to country. While Swiss adults had on average over ******* U.S. dollars of debt in 2022, adults from Azerbaijan had a debt of *** dollars. Meanwhile, the average volume of debt in Europe that year was almost ****** U.S. dollars per adult. The household debt to disposable income ratio in Europe follows a similarly varied distribution. As varied as the volume of debts in Europe are, the most common forms of debt are still very similar and they tend to include: credit cards, medical debt, student loans, overdrafts, mortgages, automobile financing and personal loans.

Personal savings in the United States reached a value of 975 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, marking a slight increase compared to 2023. Personal savings peaked in 2020 at nearly 2.7 trillion U.S. dollars. Those figures remained very high until 2021. The excess savings during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. and other countries were the main reason for that increase, as the measures implemented to contain the spread of the virus had an impact on consumer spending. Saving before and after the 2008 financial crisis During the periods of growth and certain economic stability in the pre-2008 crisis period, there were falling savings rates. People were confident the good times would stay and felt comfortable borrowing money. Credit was easily accessible and widely available, which encouraged people to spend money. However, in times of austerity, people generally tend to their private savings due to a higher economic uncertainty. That was also the case in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Savings and inflation The economic climate of high inflation and rising Federal Reserve interest rates in the U.S. made it increasingly difficult to save money in 2022. Not only does inflation affect the ability of people to save, but reversely, consumer behavior also affects inflation. On the one hand, prices can increase when the production costs are higher. That can be the case, for example, when the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil or other raw materials increases. On the other hand, when people have a lot of savings and the economy is strong, high levels of consumer demand can also increase the final price of products.