Schwerin (dpa/mv) - Despite an improvement in the over-indebtedness of the citizens in the north-east, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania remains in the lower places in a national comparison. As can be seen from the debtor atlas 2022 by the credit agency Creditreform, almost all districts and urban districts in the state are above the national average of 8.48 percent of the adult population with their over-indebtedness rate.

Only the district of Rostock is slightly below this with 8.25 percent and thus in 231st place out of a total of 401 districts in Germany. The state capital Schwerin has the highest ratio in MV, here it is 12.11 percent - place 368. Nevertheless, according to the statistics, there has been a steady decrease in the debt ratio in the northeast since 2017 - as well as nationwide. The new federal states are also at a similar level to the rest of the state for the first time.

According to the experts, over-indebtedness occurs when the debtor is highly unlikely to be able to pay the sum of his payment obligations over a longer period of time - or in short: the total expenditure exceeds the income.

But the experts warn: "Unfortunately, the good numbers are deceptive," says Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch, Head of Economic Research at Creditreform. The ongoing crisis situation means that most people spend less money, and they are also protected by government aid programs. Due to the current energy crisis, Hantzsch fears a trend reversal in the coming months. According to Creditreform, almost a fifth of households in Germany are at risk of not being able to pay their energy bills immediately.