The number of people in Finland who defaulted on a payment, or payments, increased by two percent last year compared to 2023, according to figures published on Tuesday by Statistics Finland.
"At the end of 2024, the number of debtors in enforcement matters was 264,124 and their total debt in recovery proceedings was 7.1 billion euros," the agency's report said.
This works out at an average debt of about 25,300 euros per person, according to Statistics Finland's calculations — a figure that is down by about 1,700 euros compared to the level in 2023.
However, the number-crunching agency's report revealed that there has been a steady rise in the number of payment defaults in Finland since 2008.
The report also noted that men were much more likely to default on payments than women, as 61 percent of the people facing some form of debt enforcement last year were men. In addition, people who fall behind on paying their bills generally have an average of about eight matters with debt collection authorities, according to Statistics Finland's data.
A recent report by the agency revealed that nearly one million people in Finland are at risk of poverty or social exclusion as they struggle to make ends meet.
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