Debt “now outweighs GDP” in UK
August 25, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Loans
The debt mountain in the UK has now grown so high that it is now bigger than the country’s entire gross domestic product (GDP).
This is the shocking new claim from consultants Grant Morgan, whose research on debt, published today, lays bare the true scale of the problem in Britain.
The figures show a total debt – made up of mortgages and unsecured loans, among other debts – of £1,345 billion, which slightly outweighs a national GDP of £1,330 billion.
Stephen Gifford, chief economist at Grant Thornton, said: “Britain’s huge level of consumer debt is symptomatic of the country’s well established ‘buy now, pay later’ culture.”
He added: “Fortunately, most consumer debt is secured and can be repaid over several years otherwise we would be technically bankrupt.”
The implications of the research is stark. Extrapolating from national consumer debt as it currently stands, 2007 debt levels would now take until January 5th next year to be covered by GDP.
By contrast, just ten years ago, debt would already have been swallowed up by August.
