THE country's aggregate household debt stood at RM1.53 trillion at the end of last year.
The Finance Ministry in a written reply to the Dewan Rakyat said housing loans made up the largest share of household debt at 60.5 per cent, followed by vehicle loans (13.2 per cent) and personal financing (12.6 per cent).
Other loans included those for purchasing non-residential property, credit card debt, security and others.
In aggregate, the total household debt for 2022 was RM1.45 trillion, followed by 2021 (RM1.38 trillion), 2020 (RM1.32 trillion), 2019 (RM1.25 trillion), and 2018 (RM1.19 trillion), said the MoF to a question by Pang Hock Liong (PH-Labis) who asked the government to state the country’s aggregate household debt for 2018 to 2023.
The ratio of household debt to gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of 2023 slightly increased to 84.2 per cent compared to 2018 (82 per cent).
From 2018 to 2023, the MoF said the average annual growth of household debt is 5.1 per cent.
"The annual growth in household debt was primarily driven by housing and vehicle loans following various home ownership incentives offered by the government and the private sector, as well as sales and service tax (SST) incentives for the purchase of motor vehicles between 2020 and 2022." - The Vibes, March 19, 2024
