Statistics for Credit Card Debt

Though the focus of the world economic crisis appears to be the financial state of the United States, Canada is in an economic crisis on its own. It seems that credit card debt is becoming very common in more countries. In Canada, those who are in debt five years ago feel that their situation has even gotten worse at present.

Interest rate information

Among 4,000 Canadians surveyed, 28% have absolutely no idea about their credit cards’ interest rates. This may be a major contributor to the worsening of debts. If each debtor is fully aware of the interest rate weighing down the already heavy pile of debts, he or she may not be so eager to keep on using that piece of plastic.

Credit card rush

By the year 2003, 50.4 million Visas and Mastercards are in circulation. This means that each Canadian adult has an average of two cards or more. Among the 50.4 million credit cards, 22.2 million credit cards have a balance. By the end of the same year, Canadians owe a total of 49.8 billion dollars. This is a big amount considering that there has been a 90% increase in credit card debt from 1997 to 2001. Imagine what the credit card debt of the country will be like with more businesses accepting credit card payments.

Average credit card debt

25 percent of Canadian credit card holders have debts ranging from $10,000 to $40,000. These amounts do not even include high-priced loans such as mortgages. Because of these big amounts, many of those surveyed worry about not being able to come up with money for emergencies.

Delinquent payers

In 2003, Canadian credit card holders who are not able to meet their payments for three months or more make up 0.8% of those that have been surveyed. The percentage could be greater especially today, especially since credit card debt continues to rise.