UK debt total is higher than national income
It was reported yesterday that the total amount of money owed by UK residents is a higher figure than that of the gross national income - for the second year in a row. The total amount owed by consumers through mortgages, loans and credit cards rose by 7.3% during the year to the end of June to stand at a staggering figure of £1.444 trillion, according to the report by accountants Grant Thornton. However, during the same period, gross domestic product, or GDP, rose by only 5.1% to £1.41 trillion - meaning that personal debt outweighs this figure. As a result, it has been calculated that it would take up until January 2009 to pay off the total debt in the UK from GDP during one calendar year.
These figures are made even more worrying by the fact that this is the second year in which this trend has been reported - showing that the credit crunch has not assisted with the UK debt crisis, despite the tightening of lending criteria it has seen. These figures suggest that the UK economy has a hard struggle ahead if it is to buck this trend.
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