Overview
- Creditreform’s 2025 Schuldneratlas reports 5.67 million adults over‑indebted, up 111,000 year on year, lifting the rate to 8.16 percent.
- Both legally relevant cases and persistent payment arrears increased together for the first time since 2016, with about 39,000 more hard cases and 72,000 more soft cases.
- A Schufa survey found 11 percent of consumers unable to pay rent or housing installments in the past six months and a 13 percent rise in first‑time reported payment disturbances.
- Cases are growing across social groups, with the sharpest increases among people under 30 and over 60, and pressure also visible in middle‑income households.
- Regional strain is pronounced in NRW, which accounts for almost 40 percent of new cases, while Bremerhaven, Gelsenkirchen and Pirmasens post the highest city rates; experts see further deterioration ahead and tighter checks on small loans and BNPL take effect from November 20.