Nearly 90% Of Russians Admitted That They Had Taken Out Loans In The Past Three Years

Russian citizens owe banks and microfinance organizations approximately 20% of Russia's GDP.

Most Russians (86%) have taken out a loan or at least one other type of credit over the past three years, yet 63% of residents view such financial services as a last resort that is best avoided, TASS reports, citing the results of a study by the VTsIOM Analytical Center conducted in May–June 2026, as reported by The Moscow Times.

The overwhelming majority of Russians consider it acceptable to be late on payments for their financial obligations. Among those who have taken out consumer loans, the figure was 79%; among credit card holders, it was 90%. Less than half (42%) admitted that they make payments exactly on schedule without any delays. Moreover, the social climate surrounding people with large debts remains fairly supportive, the study’s authors note. 43% of respondents feel sympathy for debtors, while only 26% express disapproval.

72% or more of respondents considered loans for housing, medical treatment, and education to be justified, but only 27% admitted to having a good understanding of the lending sector, sociologists note.

According to the Central Bank, as of July 1, Russian citizens owed banks and microfinance organizations 44.4 trillion rubles—about 20% of the country’s GDP. Over the past year, this amount has increased by 2.7 trillion rubles, and since the start of the war—by 16.1 trillion.

More than half of all individual debt consists of mortgages: Russians have taken out 24.6 trillion rubles to purchase housing; another 14.3 trillion rubles is accounted for by consumer loans, including those for purchasing goods; 3.1 trillion rubles is for auto loans.

At the start of the year, according to Central Bank statistics, 48.5 million people—or nearly 58% of the working-age population, which Rosstat estimates at 83.2 million—had debt.

35.3 million citizens had bank loans, of whom 9.8 million had two loans and 11.3 million had three or more. 7.2 million people took out loans from microfinance companies in addition to their bank loans, while 6 million were exclusively clients of MFOs.

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