More than a quarter of UAE residents have debts of more than $68,119 (AED250,000), according to a new survey by Arabian Business.
The survey also shows that nearly 40% of residents have personal loans of between $27,247 (AED100,000) and $54,495 (AED200,000).
But the scale of UAE debt isn’t just concentrated on personal loans. The results show that 12% of residents in the country own more than six credit cards, with 15% of those still having outstanding balances of more than $27,247. The picture is even worse on car loans, where nearly a quarter of all UAE residents owe more than $27,247.
Last year a report by the Lafferty Group said total consumer debt across the GCC was $139bn, with the UAE having one of the highest take ups of credit cards anywhere on the planet, with 199.4 cards per 100 people.
*Arabian Business questioned 342 UAE residents for the debt survey.