38,000 Rotterdam inhabitants have student debt

One in twelve adult Rotterdammers have a student debt. On average, this debt amounts to €13,872.92, according to a news release by RTL Nieuws, based on figures held by CBS (Statistics Netherlands) and DUO, the Dutch government’s Education Executive Agency.

All in all, Rotterdam inhabitants owe DUO almost €528 million. This includes 1,358 Rotterdammers whose outstanding student loan exceeds €50,000.

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Higher than national average debt

Rotterdammers’ student debts are a bit higher than the average Dutch person’s, as the national average student debt amounts to €12,609.74. In addition, Rotterdammers are more likely to have student debts than your average Dutch person: one in twelve Rotterdammers are paying off student loans, rather than the national average of one in 25. It should be noted, however, that our debts are lower than those incurred in other university towns. On average, inhabitants of Amsterdam, Groningen, Leiden and Utrecht have considerably higher student debt.