Doubling of total student debt

Doubling of total student debt 

 

 

The total study debt of (former) students has risen to €28.2 billion. That is 1.7 billion more than last year and more than twice as much as before the introduction of the loan system in 2015. 

 

Study debts have increased substantially in recent years, reports Dutch statistics agency CBS. Moreover, interest rates on study debts are quintupling, as study finance provider DUO confirmed today. 

 

Over 1.6 million people had study debt at the beginning of 2023. Since the introduction of the loan system in 2015, the average debt has increased by 4,700 euros to 17,100 euros. 

 

Number of people
Over 330 thousand (former) students had a study debt of more than 30 thousand euros in 2023. This is 26 thousand more than in 2022 and 215 thousand more than before the loan system. Almost two thousand students have more than a hundred thousand euros in debt.

 

But there are also (former) students with lower debts, if only because they have already repaid part of it. For half of them, the debt is less than 10 thousand euros.

 

25- to 30-year-olds
People between the ages of 25 and 30, the so-called ‘unlucky generation’, have benefited little or not at all from the basic grant and could only borrow. They have also had little time to repay. In that age group, debt is highest: €22,900 on average. 
Young students up to 20 years old apparently borrowed a little less. Now that the basic grant is back, that will be even less. (HOP, PvT)