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Young Danes increasingly appearing in debt registry
🇩🇰 Denmark /Economy & Trade

Young Danes increasingly appearing in debt registry

From Berlingske · () Danish

Translated from Danish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • The number of individuals listed as poor payers in Denmark's RKI registry has decreased since 2014, with a further 2% drop this year.
  • While overall numbers are declining, there's a concerning rise in young people aged 18-20 ending up in the registry.
  • Experts suggest increased focus on budgeting and financial literacy in education could help young people avoid future debt issues.

Denmark has seen a consistent decline in the number of individuals listed as poor payers in the RKI registry since 2014. Data from Experian, the company operating the registry, shows a further 2% decrease in the first half of this year, bringing the total number of registered individuals to 161,577, or approximately 3.3% of the adult population.

In January 2025, 0.89 percent of very young people were in RKI, while today it is 1.04 percent.

— Bo RasmussenHighlighting the increase in young individuals appearing in the RKI registry.

Bo Rasmussen, director at Experian, attributes this general downward trend partly to high employment rates supporting private finances. However, he expresses concern over a specific demographic: young people aged 18 to 20. The proportion of this age group in the RKI registry has increased from 0.89% in January 2025 to 1.04% currently.

While the absolute numbers among the youth may not seem dramatic, ending up in the RKI registry can significantly hinder their ability to access regulated loans for major purchases like cars or homes. Rasmussen suggests that the rise among young people could be linked to the accumulation of small, seemingly manageable subscriptions, such as streaming services, which can become overwhelming and lead to missed payments.

He points, among other things, to the amount of small subscriptions for streaming services, for example, which can pile up and become unmanageable to pay on time.

Explaining a potential reason for the rise in young people defaulting on payments.

To address this, Rasmussen advocates for greater emphasis on budgeting and personal finance education in schools. He believes that teaching young people about budgeting mechanisms, loan agreements, and the consequences of late payments is crucial for preventing them from falling into debt early in their adult lives. Companies must issue three written reminders before reporting a debtor, warning them of the registry entry, and the debt must exceed 200 Danish kroner. Public authorities have stricter requirements, needing a minimum debt of 7,500 kroner and a four-week waiting period after a warning.

Therefore, he believes that there should be more focus on budgeting and personal finance in the country's educational institutions.

Proposing a solution to the growing problem of youth debt.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Berlingske in Danish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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