Slight rise in the rate of defaulting debtors in Switzerland

Slight rise in the rate of defaulting debtors
The CRIF rate of defaulting debtors amounts to 6.4% of all private individuals in Switzerland. This represents a slightly higher value than in January 2022, when it was 6.3%. The actual number of over-indebted individuals in Switzerland has grown by 3,615, from 553,344 in January 2022 to 556,959 in July 2022.

High rates of defaulting debtors in western Switzerland, Basel Stadt and Ticino
There are major differences between the various regions. Western Switzerland and Ticino have higher rates of defaulting debtors than the remainder of Switzerland. For example, the Canton of Neuchâtel reports the highest rate of defaulting debtors, at 10.5%, followed by Geneva, at 9.9%, then Basel-Stadt at 8.4%, Vaud at 8.0% and Ticino at 7.7%

Appenzell Innerrhoden has the lowest rate of defaulting debtors
The Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden is home to the best payers in Switzerland, with the lowest rate of defaulting debtors (at 1.6%). In central Switzerland, while the Cantons of Zug, Uri, Obwalden and Nidwalden also report low rates of defaulting debtors.

Men are more substantially in debt
We also observed major differences between the genders: men owe substantially more than women. For example, the rate of defaulting debtors in men aged between 46 and 50 is 12%, whereas the equivalent rate for women of the same age is just 8%. The highest rate of defaulting debtors is in men aged between 38 and 41.

However, this difference does not apply in every age group; between the ages of 18 and 25, men and women exhibit the same level of excess debt.

CRIF rate of defaulting debtors
The CRIF rate of defaulting debtors is calculated on the basis of all those private individuals who are involved in debt enforcement proceedings following requests for continuation of enforcement demands, bankruptcies and loss certificates. In addition, CRIF also consolidates and includes the payment records of over 10,000 businesses across the whole of Switzerland. This survey was carried out on 31st July 2022.