Amid the soaring cost of living crisis, the average household in the United Kingdom is expected to have spent an average of £550 on Christmas festivities this year – an increase of £70 from 2022.1.
In a recent study it has been discovered that UK households are saving just $912 (£724) of their disposable income, it is therefore no surprise that 43% of Brits planned to use credit cards to pay for Christmas presents this year.2
The study analysed global data on household savings, including mean disposable income, mean household savings and long-term interest rates, to ultimately discover the countries with the highest household savings in the world.
The countries with the highest household savings:
|
|
County
|
Mean household disposable
income in USD*
|
Mean household savings in USD from disposable income*
|
% of disposable
income put
toward savings
|
Mean
long-term interest rates
|
Total savings score
|
|
1.
|
Switzerland
|
$35,311
|
$5908
|
17%
|
1.44
|
9.83
|
|
2.
|
Luxembourg
|
$40,395
|
$3028
|
8%
|
2.35
|
9.69
|
|
3.
|
United States of America
|
$42,592
|
$2961
|
7%
|
3.21
|
9.67
|
|
4.
|
Chile
|
$14,004
|
$1532
|
11%
|
5.19
|
9.63
|
|
5.
|
Germany
|
$32,997
|
$3568
|
11%
|
2.28
|
9.62
|
|
6.
|
Austria
|
$31,792
|
$3058
|
10%
|
2.61
|
9.55
|
|
7.
|
Netherlands
|
$31,304
|
$2475
|
8%
|
2.47
|
9.51
|
|
8.
|
France
|
$29,663
|
$2876
|
10%
|
2.62
|
9.49
|
|
9.
|
Belgium
|
$29,837
|
$2778
|
9%
|
2.75
|
9.48
|
|
10.
|
Sweden
|
$28,611
|
$2814
|
10%
|
2.55
|
9.47
|
|
17.
|
United Kingdom
|
$28,222
|
$918
|
3.25%
|
3
|
9.26
|
The United Kingdom ranked 17th out of the 35 countries analyzed. While UK households have a mean household disposable income of $28,222 (£22,956), which is not far from Sweden, which made it into the top 10, only a mere 3.25% is put towards their savings.
Amid the ongoing cost of living crisis, essential expenses like housing, utilities, and groceries are dwindling the funds available for savings. With food prices experiencing their most rapid increase in the last 45 years and utility bills soaring, households find themselves with limited support, unsurprisingly resulting in scarily low savings rates. Furthermore, the substantial debt obligations, encompassing loans and mortgages, absorb a significant portion of the income of UK residents, especially now when mortgage rates have peaked.
Switzerland residents have the highest household savings with a total savings score of 9.83 out of 10. Households in Switzerland save 17% of their gross income, with $5,908 per year saved on average between 2000-2022. This is 48% higher than the neighbouring country of Austria ($3,058) in the same time period, despite having a similar population size. Switzerland also has the lowest long-term interest rates at 1.44 since 2000 — 63% lower than the long-term interest rates in Luxembourg (2.345).
Luxembourg ranks second with a total savings score of 9.69/10. The country has the second-highest household disposable income between 2000-2022 ($40,398), 35% higher than in the neighbouring country of Belgium ($29,837). Luxembourg residents have mean household savings of $3,028, with 8% of their disposable income put toward savings. Not only this, Luxembourg’s long-term interest rates stand at 2.35, which are the third lowest interest rates globally behind Switzerland (1.44) and Germany (2.28).
The US ranks 3rd, with a total savings score of 9.67 out of 10. With the dollar exchange rate taken into account, the USA has the highest mean household disposable income in the ranking ($42,592), 45% higher than Canada ($29,442) and 3 times higher than Mexico ($14,102). CityIndex found that American residents have a mean average household savings of $2,961, with 7% of their disposable income going into their savings.
The study was conducted by CityIndexData is calculated between 2000-2022. *Mean household disposable income & savings are calculated per annum. Exchange rates may have an impact on the final rankings; for clarification, see the methodology.
