Colombians most indebted in Latin America

[Judi Lynn]

Colombians most indebted in Latin America
Nov 10, 2014 posted by Joel Gillin

Some 65% of Colombian households claim that one or more of their family members are in debt, the highest percentage in Latin America, according to local media.

The figure, which was published in a study by private firm Kantar Worldpanel called “Rising Latinos,” is down from last year’s number in which 69% of Colombian households were in debt, according to newspaper El Tiempo.

Chile was second on this year’s list with 63% of households claiming some type of debt, while Venezuela had the least amount of homes in debt at just 17%. The numbers are based on information obtained from 6,704 families in 15 Latin American countries.

David Fiss, the business director of the firm, said that 17% percent of Colombians have gone into debt to purchase home appliances and another 11% for other home articles. Some 13% took out loans for their education, with 12% going into debt to buy clothes.

More:
http://colombiareports.co/colombian-indebted-latin-america/

[Bacchus4.0]

1. Sign of a rising economy with most Colombians seeing an improvement over the past 5 yrs.

Other countries with high consumer debt include US, Canada, Germany, UK, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, Australia and the rising economies of China and India.

From you same link:

Most Colombian households in the firm’s study — 62% — said their situation had improved compared to five years ago, even though only 20% of Colombians think the country is improving.

In contrast, less than half of the Latin Americans consulted — 45% — thought their situation had improved over the last five years.