Brazil’s Family Debt Keeps Climbing, Raising Concerns Over Short-Term Borrowing

Brazilian families are taking on more debt, with 78.4% now owing money as of June 2025, according to the National Confederation of Commerce (CNC).

This is the fifth month in a row that the share of indebted families has grown. Most of these debts come from credit cards, store credit, personal loans, and payments for cars or homes.

Despite the rise in debt, the share of families with overdue bills stayed at 29.5%, the same as in May. The number of families who consider themselves “very indebted” increased slightly to 15.9%.

Families are managing to reduce how long they stay behind on payments, with the average overdue period dropping to 64.1 days. The share of families with debts overdue by more than 90 days also fell, now at 47.3%.

The burden of debt is heavier for lower-income families. Among those earning up to three minimum wages, 81.1% have debt, and 36.9% are behind on payments. For families earning more than ten minimum wages, 67.5% have debt, and only 14.9% are behind.

Credit cards remain the top source of debt, used by 83.3% of indebted families, though this is slightly less than last year. Store credit is becoming more common, now at 17%.

More families are taking on short-term debts, to be paid within six months, while long-term debts are declining. Brazil’s household debt equals about 32% of the country’s total economic output.

This is lower than in the United States, European Union, Japan, or China, but a much higher share of Brazilian families have some kind of debt. In many richer countries, most household debt comes from long-term mortgages with lower interest rates.

In Brazil, most debt is for everyday spending and comes with higher costs. The CNC expects family debt to keep rising this year, with a possible increase of up to 2.5 percentage points in the share of indebted families.

Defaults could also rise by 0.7 percentage points. High debt levels, especially short-term and high-interest loans, can limit families’ spending and make them more vulnerable to economic problems.

These trends are important for businesses and policymakers to watch, as they affect Brazil’s economic stability.

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