One in every thousand Dutch involved in debt restructuring proceedings each year

In the period 2006-2008, an average of 13 thousand orders for debt repayment were annually pronounced in Dutch courts, which means that one in every thousand Dutch in the age category 18 years and older is annually involved in debt restructuring proceedings. The number is nearly twice as high in municipal districts requiring special attention.

Major differences between the various special-attention districts

The debt restructuring rate varies across the special-attention districts. In the period 2006-2008, for example, the rate ranged from 0.7 per one thousand residents in the special-attention district Heechterp/Schieringen in Leeuwarden to 5.4 per thousand residents in the Rivierenwijk district in Deventer. This is shown in the Outcomemonitor 40-Wijkenaanpak published by Statistics Netherlands.

Orders for debt repayment pronounced in Dutch courts per one thousand residents, average over the period 2006-2008

In Amsterdam nearly twice as many debt restructurings as in The Hague

There were also substantial differences between the four major cities in the Netherlands. In Amsterdam, twice as many court orders for debt repayment were pronounced as in The Hague: 1.4 against 0.8 per thousand residents. With 1.1 and 1.0 respectively, Utrecht and Rotterdam were in between.

The differences between the four major cities are also reflected in the special-attention districts of these cities. The rate in Amsterdam ranged from 1.5 per thousand residents in the Bos en Lommer district to 3.0 in the Amsterdam-Noord district. The lowest number of debt restructurings in The Hague was recorded in the Transvaal district (0.9 per thousand residents), as opposed to 1.5 in the Schilderswijk district. In the special-attention districts in Utrecht, an average of 2.4 court orders for debt repayment were pronounced per thousand residents. In the special-attention districts in Rotterdam, the rate was 1.6 per thousand residents.

Court orders for debt repayment per thousand residents in the four major cities, average over the period 2006-2008

Vinodh Lalta and Frank van der Linden