Rising living costs are driving up both the number of first-time student loan borrowers, and the size of their loans
Rising living costs are driving up both the number of first-time student loan borrowers, and the size of their loans
12 January 2026
The Ministry of Education has released its Student Loan Scheme Annual Report for 2025, showing total borrower numbers rose 0.7 percent year-on-year to 622-thousand.
Just over 14.7 million dollars was borrowed through the scheme last year - up 5.8 percent.
The average amount climbed to around 12-thousand dollars, 582 dollars more than the previous year.
More people entered the scheme than those who left.
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