After several years of stability, Germany is once again witnessing a rise in long-term personal debt. The newest edition of Creditreform’s Schuldneratlas reveals that millions of people are struggling to keep up with financial obligations, a trend closely tied to the economic pressures of recent years. For the first time since 2018, the number of adults unable to meet their payments on a sustained basis has increased.
Economic crises erode savings and push more people into debt
According to the report, 5.67 million adults in Germany are currently classified as over-indebted — around 111,000 more than a year ago. This corresponds to a year-on-year rise of roughly two percent.
Creditreform defines over-indebtedness as a prolonged inability to cover outstanding financial commitments. The organisation notes that the combined effects of the pandemic, rising energy costs and persistent inflation have eroded savings for large parts of the population.
Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch, head of economic research at Creditreform, describes the development as the strongest increase in new cases since 2016. Significant growth is recorded among young adults under 30 and senior citizens over 60, two groups with very different risk profiles but similar vulnerability to unexpected financial strain.
However, the trend is not limited to low-income households. The latest data shows rising debt levels even among individuals with medium or above-average earnings — a sign, Creditreform warns, that many people have misjudged their long-term financial resilience.
Regional disparities: Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg remain the most stable
Debt levels vary widely across the country. Northern and eastern federal states continue to face the highest burden, while southern regions remain comparatively robust.
Bremen leads the national statistics with an over-indebtedness rate of 12.11 percent, followed by Saxony-Anhalt with 10.73 percent. On the opposite end, Bavaria reports the lowest share at 6.05 percent, closely followed by Baden-Württemberg at 6.88 percent.
A closer look at individual districts shows particularly strong contrasts. The Bavarian districts of Eichstätt (3.66 percent) and Erlangen-Höchstadt (3.85 percent) record the lowest rates nationwide. Meanwhile, Bremerhaven (18.33 percent), Gelsenkirchen (17.07 percent) and Pirmasens (16.86 percent) sit at the bottom of the ranking with some of the highest debt ratios in the country.
Overall, the national over-indebtedness rate rose from 8.09 to 8.16 percent, a modest change that nonetheless marks a clear shift after years of decline.
How Creditreform measures over-indebtedness
To compile the Schuldneratlas, Creditreform evaluates anonymised data from official registers, online retailers and various financial sources. The report distinguishes between “hard” indicators — such as court enforcement measures, collection procedures or arrest warrants — and “soft” indicators, including persistent payment delays.
The combination of economic uncertainty, prolonged cost pressures and a broadening group of affected households indicates that over-indebtedness could continue to rise if living expenses remain high and wage growth remains limited.
Growing concern about long-term financial vulnerability
The new figures illustrate that Germany’s financial stability is under strain across age groups and regions. While the increases remain moderate in absolute terms, the underlying patterns reveal deeper challenges: households across nearly all income levels are losing financial buffer zones.
As policymakers debate how to respond to inflationary pressures and the cost of living, the latest data sends a clear message — many people have little room left to absorb further shocks.
