If you’re planning to attend university, you most likely need a student loan. While there are other types of loans for young people, most student loans are granted by the Student Loans Company (SLC). We look at how trends in average student loan debt and repayments have changed over time.
Student loan statistics: Highlights
The average student loan debt in England is £48,470 in 2024, up from £44,430 in 2023.
Average student loan debt in England increased by 142% between 2014 and 2024.
Total student loan debt in England in 2024 is £236.2 billion, up 15% from 2023.
Total student loan debt in England increased by 334% between 2014 and 2024.
£20 billion is loaned to around 1.5 million students in England each year.
Students in England repay an average of £88.33 a month, or £1,060 a year, in student loan debt as of 2023.
Almost two-thirds of students (65%) starting in 2023/24 are expected to repay their loans in full, up from 27% of students starting in 2022/23.
What is the average student loan debt in the UK?
The average student loan debt is £48,470 for students graduating from English universities in 2024. This has increased by 142% in 10 years, as the average student loan debt in 2014 was £20,040. It’s also an increase of 9% in the average student debt since 2023.
Students in England owed £236.2 billion in student loan debt in 2023/24, up by 15% from £205.6 billion in 2022/23. The total value of student debt in England has seen a huge increase in the last decade and is 334% higher in 2023/24 than in 2013/14. The government forecasts the value of outstanding loans to be around £500 billion in 2023/24 prices by the late-2040s in England.
What is the average student loan payment in the UK?
In 2022/23, students paid back £1,060 over the year on average, which equates to an average of £88.33 a month. This is up slightly from £870 a year in 2012/23, which meant students were paying £72.50 a month on average.
The average student loan repayments vary across UK regions, with Scottish students paying back the least in 2022/23 at £660 a year or £55 a month. English students are repaying 68% more than Scottish students on average. Welsh students paid back £990 in a year on average, while Northern Irish students paid £1060.
What is the average interest rate on student loans?
The interest rate for post-2012 student loans is at 7.9% as of July 2024, the highest-ever level. Meanwhile, the interest rate for pre-2012 loans is also at a record high of 6.25%. Interest rates for the 2024/25 will be slightly lower, at 7.3% for all plan 2 and plan 3 loans.
How much is loaned to students each year?
Currently, around £20 billion per year is loaned to around 1.5 million higher education students in England. This equates to an average of £13,333 per student each year.
What percentage of student loans are repaid in the UK?
According to government forecasts, almost two-thirds of students (65%) starting in 2023/24 are expected to repay their student loans in full. This is a significant jump from the number of 2022/23 students who were expected to repay their student loans at 27%.
The reforms mean that the threshold for repaying student loans will be frozen at £25,000 for now and the repayment period is being extended from 30 years to 40 years, meaning graduates will likely make repayments for longer.
How many students take out a student loan?
In 2022/23, over 1.2 million full-time undergraduate students took out a student loan to fund their higher education. In total, these loans were worth almost £17.8 billion, which means around
Tuition fees have increased over the years and this has led to a higher uptake in student loans. While just 28% of eligible students took out a student loan in 1990, 95% of eligible students took one out in 2021. This means that approximately 1 in 20 eligible students who started in 2021 do not have a student loan.
Emily Herring is a Publisher at Finder specialising in credit-based products including credit cards and business and personal loans. Emily has recently joined the Investments team. She has a Masters in Creative Writing & Publishing and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication & Media. See full bio
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