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GlobalQuarterly · data through Q1 2026 · checked October 12, 2026

Savings Rate by Country

How much of their income households save in 38 countries, on one OECD definition: who saves the most, and who is saving more or less than before the pandemic.

Latest reading

China has the highest household saving rate in the data, 34.9% of disposable income in 2023. Among the 21 countries with figures for Q1 2026, Hungary (20.3%), Ireland (19.4%) and Czechia (19.4%) save the most. The United States saves 10.1%, 23rd of 38, −1.8 pts against its 2015–2019 average. 25 of 38 countries save a larger share of income than they did before the pandemic.

Sources, methodology & freshnessOECD national accounts: household indicators dashboard (quarterly, seasonally adjusted) and annual non-financial accounts by institutional sector (Table 14) · Quarterly, about four months after the quarter; checked dailyData as of 2026-10-12 · Open ↓
Source
OECD national accounts: household indicators dashboard (quarterly, seasonally adjusted) and annual non-financial accounts by institutional sector (Table 14)
Methodology
Household gross saving as a percent of gross disposable income adjusted for the change in pension entitlements; latest quarter where published, otherwise latest year, computed with the same formula
Updates
Quarterly, about four months after the quarter; checked dailyData as of 2026-10-12
Maintained & reviewed by Yuriy Matso — methodology shown on the page.
Saving vs 2015–20192026-Q1
25 of 38
countries above

Countries whose households save a larger share of income now than their own 2015–2019 average. The typical country is +1.4 pts above it.

Highest
34.9%
China
Median
11.6%
38 countries
US rank
23rd
of 38
US, OECD
10.1%
US vs 2015–2019
−1.8 pts
US, BEA net
5.3%
01

Household saving rate, every reporting country

The latest household saving rate for each country, as a percent of disposable income. Dark bars are seasonally adjusted quarterly figures for Q1 2026 or the quarter before; light bars are the latest annual figure for countries without a quarterly series, and the period beside each name says which. Greece has a negative rate: households spent more than their disposable income.

#CountryRatevs 2015–2019
1China202334.9%−0.2 pts
2HungaryQ1 202620.3%+6.4 pts
3IrelandQ1 202619.4%+6.3 pts
4CzechiaQ1 202619.4%+8.3 pts
5GermanyQ1 202619.1%+1.5 pts
6NetherlandsQ1 202617.7%+3.4 pts
7FranceQ1 202617.4%+3.7 pts
8AustraliaQ1 202616.1%+1.3 pts
9MexicoQ4 202515.5%+3.9 pts
10SwedenQ1 202615.3%+0.3 pts
11DenmarkQ1 202615.1%+6.2 pts
12South Korea202414.4%+2.8 pts
13AustriaQ1 202613.8%+0.5 pts
14Slovenia202413.3%+0.5 pts
15FinlandQ1 202613.3%+4.3 pts
16PortugalQ1 202612.5%+5.4 pts
17Iceland202412.4%+4.6 pts
18Luxembourg202412.2%−1.0 pts
19BelgiumQ1 202611.9%+0.5 pts
20Türkiye202411.3%−4.3 pts
21SpainQ1 202611.3%+4.0 pts
22ItalyQ1 202610.8%0.0 pts
23United StatesQ1 202610.1%−1.8 pts
24PolandQ1 20269.6%+3.3 pts
25Japan20249.5%+0.3 pts
26Croatia20249.0%−0.2 pts
27United KingdomQ1 20268.9%+2.1 pts
28CanadaQ1 20268.4%+1.6 pts
29Chile20248.4%−1.6 pts
30Slovakia20248.1%−1.2 pts
31Lithuania20247.6%+8.4 pts
32Estonia20247.3%−1.7 pts
33Colombia20247.3%−1.1 pts
34Latvia20244.9%−0.9 pts
35New Zealand20233.7%+3.0 pts
36South Africa20252.1%−0.5 pts
37Romania20251.8%+9.2 pts
38GreeceQ1 2026−5.1%−1.6 pts

“vs 2015–2019” is the latest rate minus the country's average over those five years, in percentage points. “Year ago” is the same quarter, or year, twelve months earlier. Source: OECD.

02

Six large economies, quarterly since 2007

Saving rates jumped in 2020 almost everywhere, when lockdowns stopped spending and governments sent money to households. The US rate peaked at 29.2% in Q2 2020. The rates fell back as spending resumed. In Q1 2026: United States 10.1%, Germany 19.1%, France 17.4%, United Kingdom 8.9%, Canada 8.4% and Australia 16.1%.

Range:
4%17.2%30.4%200820102012201420162018202020222024202610.1%19.1%17.4%8.9%8.4%16.1%
Household gross saving rate, % of adjusted disposable income, seasonally adjusted, quarterly to Q1 2026. United States, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Source: OECD household indicators dashboard.
03

Saving more or less than before the pandemic

25 of the 38 countries with a full 2015–2019 record save a larger share of income now than in those years. The largest increases are in Romania (+9.2 pts), Lithuania (+8.4 pts), Czechia (+8.3 pts) and Hungary (+6.4 pts). Below their pre-pandemic average: Türkiye (−4.3 pts), United States (−1.8 pts), Estonia (−1.7 pts), Greece (−1.6 pts), Chile (−1.6 pts), Slovakia (−1.2 pts), Colombia (−1.1 pts), Luxembourg (−1.0 pts), Latvia (−0.9 pts), South Africa (−0.5 pts), China (−0.2 pts), Croatia (−0.2 pts) and Italy (0.0 pts). Among the large economies with quarterly figures, the United States has fallen furthest below its pre-pandemic saving rate.

Large economies2015–2019 avg2020–21 peakLatestChange
United States Q1 202611.9%20.6%10.1%−1.8 pts
Germany Q1 202617.6%23.2%19.1%+1.5 pts
France Q1 202613.7%20.0%17.4%+3.7 pts
United Kingdom Q1 20266.8%16.7%8.9%+2.1 pts
Japan 20249.2%17.3%9.5%+0.3 pts
Canada Q1 20266.8%18.1%8.4%+1.6 pts
Italy Q1 202610.8%17.8%10.8%0.0 pts
Australia Q1 202614.8%24.5%16.1%+1.3 pts
South Korea 202411.6%17.8%14.4%+2.8 pts
China 202335.2%38.7%34.9%−0.2 pts

The peak is the higher of the 2020 and 2021 annual rates; quarterly peaks ran higher. Change is the latest rate minus the 2015–2019 average.

04

The long record, annual since 1995

The annual sector accounts reach back to 1995 and include countries with no quarterly figure. Latest annual readings: United States 10.7% (2025), China 34.9% (2023), Germany 19.2% (2025), South Korea 14.4% (2024) and Japan 9.5% (2024).

Range:
4.1%21.6%39.2%20002005201020152020202510.7%34.9%19.2%14.4%9.5%
Household gross saving rate, % of adjusted disposable income, annual. United States, China, Germany, South Korea and Japan. Countries in the OECD's quarterly dashboard use its published annual rate from 2007 and the computed rate before it; the others are computed from Table 14 as gross saving over disposable income plus the pension adjustment. Source: OECD.
05

Why the US rate here is not the one in the news

The US saving rate quoted every month is the Bureau of Economic Analysis's personal saving rate, which averaged 5.3% in Q1 2026, the quarter in which the OECD figure here reads 10.1%. The BEA rate is net: it subtracts the depreciation of households' own capital, mostly owner-occupied housing, from saving. The OECD rate is gross, before depreciation, and that is the only definition on which every country here reports. Use one or the other, never both in one comparison. The BEA's latest monthly reading was 4.1% in August 2026; its full history is on the Personal Saving Rate page.

Levels differ between countries for structural reasons as much as behavior: countries with generous state pensions and public health care need less private saving, and because the household sector in national accounts includes unincorporated businesses, countries with many self-employed record some business saving as household saving. Comparing a country with its own history avoids most of that.

06

How it is computed

The rate is household gross saving over gross disposable income adjusted for the change in pension entitlements, for households and the non-profit institutions that serve them. The 22 countries in the OECD's household dashboard use its published figures. For the others the same ratio is computed from the annual sector accounts; across the 387 country-years where both exist, the computed ratio matches the published one to a median 0.00 points and 96% fall within half a point. The rest differ by a data vintage, or because a country such as Australia files fiscal years.

Left out because their latest figure is more than two years older than the newest annual data: Bulgaria (last 2022), Brazil (last 2021), Costa Rica (last 2021), Norway (last 2022) and Russia (last 2019).

There is no “what happened next” study on this page. Saving rates are quarterly at best, cover a few dozen countries and move with policy as much as with markets, so the record holds too few independent episodes to grade a market signal on.

How Savings Rate by Country Works

  1. 1
    One measure for every country
    The saving rate is household gross saving as a percent of household gross disposable income, adjusted for the change in pension entitlements. It is the OECD's standard household saving rate, and households here include the non-profit institutions that serve them, as national accounts do.
  2. 2
    Quarterly where it exists
    For about 20 countries the OECD publishes the rate every quarter, seasonally adjusted, from 2007. Their current reading is the latest quarter.
  3. 3
    Annual for the rest
    For Japan, South Korea, China and the other countries without a quarterly figure, the rate is computed from the OECD's annual sector accounts with the same formula. We check that formula against the OECD's published rate wherever both exist, and the page reports how closely they match.
  4. 4
    Against each country's own past
    Saving rates differ between countries for structural reasons (pensions, home ownership, tax), so each country is also compared with its own 2015–2019 average, the five years before the pandemic, and with its 2020–2021 peak.

Who Uses Savings Rate by Country

Macro Investors
A falling saving rate means households are spending a larger share of their income, which can carry consumer spending for a while but leaves less cushion. The comparison with each country's pre-pandemic average shows where that cushion has been spent down.
Economy Watchers
The US saving rate is quoted every month. This page puts it beside other large economies on the same definition, which the US figure in the news does not share.
Researchers & Journalists
A ranked table of saving rates on one OECD definition, with the reporting period beside every country, so it is clear which figures are this year's and which are older.

Pro Tips

01
Compare a country with itself first
Levels differ for structural reasons: countries with generous state pensions tend to save less privately. A rate rising or falling against the country's own history says more about its households than its rank does.
02
Check the period column
Quarterly countries show this year's data, while annual-only countries can be a year or two behind. A rank between a 2026 quarter and a 2023 year compares different moments.
03
Do not mix this with the US news figure
The US personal saving rate published by the BEA is net of depreciation and runs about half the OECD's gross figure for the US. Use one definition at a time.

Common Issues & Solutions

Why is the US rate here higher than the one in the news?▾
The BEA's personal saving rate subtracts depreciation of households' own capital, mostly housing, from saving. The OECD's household saving rate is gross, before depreciation. The page shows both for the same quarter.
Why is a country's rate negative?▾
A negative rate means households spent more than their disposable income in that period, by drawing on savings, selling assets or borrowing. The ranking shows such countries at the bottom with their period.
Why is a country missing?▾
Only countries that report household sector accounts to the OECD appear. Countries whose latest annual figure is more than two years behind the newest data are left out of the ranking and listed by name with their last year. Switzerland, India and most of Asia outside Japan, Korea and China do not report a household saving rate to the OECD.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which country has the highest savings rate?▾
On the OECD's household saving rate, the highest of the 38 reporting countries are China (34.9%, 2023), Hungary (20.3%, Q1 2026), Ireland (19.4%, Q1 2026). The full ranking on this page lists every country with the period its figure covers.
What is the US household savings rate compared with other countries?▾
The US household saving rate was 10.1% in Q1 2026 on the OECD's gross definition, 23rd of 38 countries and below its 2015–2019 average of 11.9%. On the BEA's net definition, the figure usually quoted in the US, it averaged 5.3% in the same quarter.
What is a household saving rate?▾
The share of household disposable income that is not spent on consumption. On the OECD definition used here it is gross saving, before depreciation of households' own capital, divided by disposable income adjusted for the change in pension entitlements.
Are people saving more or less than before the pandemic?▾
25 of the 38 countries with a full 2015–2019 record are saving a larger share of income now than they did on average in those years. Saving rates jumped almost everywhere in 2020 when spending stopped and governments sent transfers; the table shows each country's peak and where it sits now.
Why do saving rates differ so much between countries?▾
Pension systems, the cost of health care and education, home ownership, access to credit, the age of the population and tax rules all shape how much households save. That is why the page compares each country with its own history as well as with others.
How often is the data updated?▾
Quarterly figures arrive about four months after the quarter ends, and annual sector accounts later still. The page checks the OECD every day and changes when new figures are published.

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