Thai Chamber of Commerce says average household debt surges to 794,945 baht, highest in 17 years
Macro
The Center for Economic and Business Forecasting at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce released the results of its survey on the state of Thai household debt for 2026, based on a sample of 1,720 people nationwide between September 7 and 13, 2026. It found that average debt per household rose to 794,945.49 baht from 740,596.94 baht the previous year, an increase of 7.3%, the highest figure since the survey began in 2009. Average monthly repayment burden stood at 21,935.31 baht, up 8.11%. Among respondents, 91.8% had debt, down from 95.1% in 2025, while those with no debt rose to 8.2%. The debt structure broke down into 77.2% formal debt and 22.8% informal debt. Some 72% of respondents had only formal debt, up from 50.9% in 2025, while those with only informal debt fell to 5% from 15.4%, and those with both formal and informal debt fell to 23% from 33.7%. The most common type of debt was credit cards at 55.1%, followed by personal consumption loans at 45.8%, vehicle loans at 41.9%, business loans at 33.6%, and housing loans at 27.2%. Buy-now-pay-later debt rose to 14.2% from 6.2% the previous year. On repayment capacity, 73.1% were still able to pay on schedule, but 67.5% had experienced missed or late payments in the past year. The Center for Economic and Business Forecasting expects that if the Thai economy grows 2.5% in 2026, the household debt-to-GDP ratio will fall from 85.9% in the first quarter to 84% in the fourth quarter. However, that decline does not mean the debt burden has eased, since average household debt remains at a record high and repayment capacity remains fragile.
