Households' income and wealth, 2010

Norwegian households increased their average debt by 5.6 per cent from 2009 to 2010. Households with the highest incomes had the strongest increase in debt. Average household debt in the two deciles at the top of the income distribution rose by almost 7 per cent from 2009 to 2010, compared to a decline of more than 5 per cent in average debt among households in the lowest income decile. Households in the middle of the income distribution increased their debt by approximately 5 per cent.

Households in the top decile in the income distribution had an average debt of NOK 2.4 million in 2010, while average debt in the lowest income decile was NOK 200 000.

High debt among many households with small children

An increasing number of households have a high debt exposure. In 2010, 6 per cent of all households had more than NOK 3 million in debt. This amounts to 135 000 households. Households with small children, where the youngest child is 0-5 years, most frequently have a household debt of more than NOK 3 million. Among these households, 17 per cent had a debt of more than NOK 3 million, and 7 per cent had more than NOK 4 million.

Tables:

• Table 1 Property account for households. 2009 and 2010. NOK million, share of households that have amount on the different property items and average amount
• Table 2 Households by size of debt and type of household. 2010. Per cent
• Table 3 Average debt and per cent changes in average debt for households in different deciles for total household income. NOK and per cent. 2005-2010
• Table 4 Households with bank deposits higher than 1 G (Basic amount of the National Insurance). 2005-2010