29 Student Loan Statistics: You Won't Believe in 2025
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- The current UK student loan statistics show that the total debt has risen to over £140 billion as of 2020.
- The average debt in the UK is approximately £40,000, with this figure increasing for younger generations.
- As of 2020, there are approximately 2.5 million people in the UK who currently have outstanding loans.
- The default rate in the UK is approximately 30%, a figure that is predicted to rise.
- The statistics in the UK have changed significantly over time, with total debt and average debt per student both increasing in the last decade.
In This Article, You Will Discover:
These student loan statistics may surprise you.
Student loan debt in the UK is at an all-time high, and it's only going to obtain worse.
Between tuition fees continuously on the rise, and students having a harder time finding work after graduation, fewer youngers have the means to pay off their loans each year.
Here are the 29 UK student loan debt statistics for 2021.
1. Over £40,000 in Student Loan Debt
Students graduating From English universities will have an average of £40,280 in student loan debt by the end of their studies.1
This is the projected average loan debt for students graduating from English universities, and it's the highest in Europe.
2. Institutions Funded by Student Debt
About 40% of British universities are reliant on the tuition fees they are getting from students.
This means that they cover operational costs through fees paid by students.
The delay in paying back student loans will vastly impact these universities' financial standing.
3. High Student Loan Interest Rates
The interest rates for student loans are currently at a staggering 6.9%.2
This is incredibly high, and it puts students in a difficult situation when they cannot find work post-graduation.
Such high rates mean that interest builds up rapidly.
4. 30 Years Until Written Off
Student loans are only forgiven by the government after 30 years if the balance hasn't been paid off.
This is the stage when the loan is finally written off. Unfortunately, this does not include the inflation that needs to be covered.
5. Tuition Fees Are High
The annual tuition fee for most university courses is £9,250.3 This means student loans are critical for many UK residents to attend university.
6. Increase In Loan Amount
20% - 30% of students who have a loaned amount increased from 2021 to 2022.
This means fewer graduates each year pay off their loans, which will cause massive problems in just a few years if it continues this way.
7. 11% Repay Rate
The repayment rate for UK student debt is currently 11% annually.
It's been paid off at this rate in the past five years, but it will only get harder as tuition fees continue to rise.
8. Full-Time Undergraduates Take Out Most Loans
As of 2019, about 90% of student loans were taken by full-time undergraduates.
This statistic is the percentage of loans taken by full-time undergraduates, and it's a huge number.
It means there are more people with student debt than ever before because tuition fees continue to rise while wages stay stagnant.
9. The Student Loan Company
The student loan company was created in the 1990-1991 academic year.
It's been a huge help for students who need loans to pay their tuition, which is becoming more expensive as the years go on.
10. 13 Million Students Loans Annually
Around 1.5 million students take up a loan each year, which is an incredibly high number.4
It means there are more people with debt than ever before because tuition fees continue to rise while wages stay stagnant.
11. 6% More Loans
The total number of borrowers who own higher education loans increased by about 6%.5
This statistic is the number of borrowers who own higher education loans,
And it's increased by six percent in just one year, so it's not a surprise that the total amount of debt has also increased.
12. Student Debt Will Soon Reach £50,000
The total amount of debt for a year of tuition is currently £50,000.6
If this number continues to increase at this rate, it will reach a massive sum in just five years, and students will have a huge amount of debt to pay off.
13. Student Loans Rose
The number of student loans rose by 10% between 2018 and 2012.7
This statistic is so high that it's not a surprise tuition fees have continued to rise while wages stay stagnant because there are fewer graduates each year paying off their loans,
Which will cause massive problems in just a few years if it continues this way.
14. Private Universities
The maximum loan students at private universities can get is £6,000 per year.8
This means that private university students have to obtain loans from other sources, such as their parents or family members,
If they do not want to take out more debt than needed for tuition and books because there are fewer graduates each year paying off their loans, which will cause massive problems in just a few years if it continues this way.
15. Fully Repaid Loans
991,500 borrowers have fully repaid their loans.9
There are now only 0.25% of borrowers who have repaid their loan in full. - In 2007, this number was at 12%.
It has been declining ever since, and it now stands at only 0.25%.
16. HMRC
Loan repayment is made through the employer who deducts the monthly payment and transfers it to HMRC.
Those who repay their loans in full receive a certificate from HMRC1 that confirms that it has been paid in full.
The borrower can then pass this certificate to the employer and deduct monthly payments from their wages for as long as they are working there.
17. Outstanding Student Debt
Outstanding student debt in the UK reached a worrying £201 billion in 2022.10
The outstanding debt amount has been increasing steadily for the past few years.
18. Outstanding Loans
The value of outstanding loans at the end of March 2021 reached £141 billion.
These loans are projected to increase in value by £20 billion this year, and we're now set for an outstanding total of at least £141 billion in loans, which is a worrying figure.
19. New Student Finance System
On 1 October 2017, prime minister Theresa May announced that there would be changes to the student finance system.
Theresa May's2 announcement came in response to a petition signed by more than 300,000 people, which had been in response to the news that student loans were set to rise.
20. Most Student Loans in Europe
England has the most student loans, with over £17 billion being lent to 13 million students each year,
And the most recent statistics show that there are now over half a million student loan borrowers in England who owe more than £50,000.
21. Wide-Ranging Review Into Post-18 Education
On 19 February 2018, the prime minister announced that there would be a "wide-ranging review into post-18 education"
Theresa May's announcement came following the publication of a report by the Social Market Foundation (SMF)3,
Which found that "the current system is not delivering for many people."
22. Things Are Looking Up
The government has estimated that 25% of full-time undergraduates who took out loans would repay them in full.
However, as we have seen from the statistics on repayment aforementioned, only 0.25% can do so now, and these numbers have been declining for several years.
23. The Average Debt
The average debt among the cohort of borrowers who finished their courses in 2020 was £45,000, and the average debt among those who finished their courses in 2019 was £42,500.
24. The Loan Balance
The loan balance for both England and EU further education borrowers reached £14 billion by the end of March,
A figure that has been steadily increasing each year. - This number is over four times what it was in 2019-2020 (£375 million).
25. Financial Year 2020-21
The financial year 2020-21 was the first year in which all students paid higher interest rates, which increased over four years, from April 2017 to March 2021.
26. Further Education Borrowers Balance
The balance of loans taken out by students who studied at a university or college in England has reached £1774 million by the end of the financial year 2020-21,
Increasing the previous year's figures.
27. Higher Education Undergraduate-Only Borrowers
The amount lent to higher education undergraduate-only borrowers in the financial year 2020-21 was £180 billion,
A significant increase on the figures from 2017, which amounted to just £127 billion.
28. Higher Education Postgraduate Education
The amount lent for higher education postgraduate education was £86.94 million by the end of 2020-21,
A decrease on last year's figure (£10425). This decrease is attributed to the increase in tuition fees for postgraduate courses.
29. The Average Student Loan Debt
According to the BBC, the average student loan debt in the UK is about £35,000, and this figure is calculated from the total debt of those who have paid off their loans.
Common Questions
What Are the Current UK Student Loan Statistics?
What Is the Average Student Loan Debt in the UK?
How Many People in the UK Have Student Loans?
What Is the Default Rate on Student Loans in the UK?
How Have Student Loan Statistics Changed Over Time in the UK?
In Conclusion
The British government has been issuing loans to students since the 1950s, and in recent years these have grown into one of the largest forms of UK debt.
With student loan debt statistics showing that more than 1 million people live with a total outstanding balance of over £50k ($77,000), it is clear this issue needs addressing urgently.
References
- www.markinstylecouk/uk-student-debt-statistics/
- www.statistacom/statistics/376423/uk-student-loan-debt/
- www.govuk/government/organisations/student-loans-company/about-us/statistics
- www.commonslibraryparliamentuk/research-briefings/sn01079/