Some headlines show that Credit card debt is increasing = Bad news
Credit Card debt accruing Interest
| May-2003 | $17,219 |
| May-2004 | $19,519 |
| May-2005 | $22,144 |
| May-2006 | $26,373 |
| May-2007 | $29,058 |
| May-2008 | $31,126 |
| May-2009 | $31,903 |
| May-2010 | $34,861 |
| May-2011 | $36,822 |
But is it really bad news?
The population is also increasing, so how does it look when we compare the real figures per head of population.
Credit Card debt accruing Interest
| Month – Year | Total Debt | Debt per person | Increase | Population |
| May-2003 | $17,219 | $865.49 | 19,895,435 | |
| May-2004 | $19,519 | $969.76 | 12.0% | 20,127,363 |
| May-2005 | $22,144 | $1,085.78 | 12.0% | 20,394,791 |
| May-2006 | $26,373 | $1,274.17 | 17.4% | 20,697,880 |
| May-2007 | $29,058 | $1,382.74 | 8.5% | 21,015,042 |
| May-2008 | $31,126 | $1,454.01 | 5.2% | 21,406,973 |
| May-2009 | $31,903 | $1,463.01 | 0.6% | 21,806,213 |
| May-2010 | $34,861 | $1,569.39 | 7.3% | 22,212,898 |
| May-2011 | $36,822 | $1,627.32 | 3.7% | 22,627,452 |
Interest bearing Credit Card debt, per person, has increased, but not at that great a figure, with only 3.7% increase in the last year. Inflation was about 3.3%, so the above figures show only 0.4% rise over inflation.
Sources:
- Debt figures taken from: RBA C1 Credit and Charge Card Statistics
- Population figures from: ABS 3105.0.65.001 Australian Population Statistics
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