Among forty major countries in the world (with Europe as a single bloc) based on the size of the national economy, South Korea had the most household debt, which also increased at the fastest rate following the COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, government debt was ranked near the bottom of the list.

According to the Global Debt Monitor by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) on November 15, household debt against the gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter this year was 104.2% in South Korea, the highest among 37 countries. South Korea was the only country where the size of household debt exceeded the size of the national economy (GDP) among the countries included in the latest survey. South Korea was followed by Hong Kong (92.0%), the United Kingdom (89.4%), the United States (79.2%), Thailand (77.5%), Malaysia (73.4%), Japan (63.9%), the euro area (61.5%), China (60.5%), and Singapore (54.3%), which comprised the top ten.

Debt also increased at the fastest rate in South Korea. Compared to the second quarter last year (98.2%), South Korea’s household debt increased 6.0%. Hong Kong came in second with a 5.9% increase (86.1→92.0%), followed by Thailand (4.8%, 72.7→77.5%), Russia (2.9%, 20.4→23.3%), and Saudi Arabia (2.5%, 12.8→15.3%). The IIF explained that the global household debt increased by 1.5 trillion dollars in the first half of this year in line with rising house prices. It further elaborated that the household debt-to-GDP ratio increased in nearly a third of the countries included in the latest survey and mentioned that the increase was notable in South Korea and Russia.

The debt ratio of South Korean companies also increased at one of the fastest rates. The corporate debt ratio jumped 7.1% from 107.9% to 115.0% in a year, and during this period, Singapore (7.6%) and Saudi Arabia (7.4%) were the only countries where corporate debt increased more than in South Korea.

Meanwhile, in the government sector, South Korea’s debt ratio was 47.1%, ranking in the bottom 26th, among the 37 countries. Government debt also increased by only 2.2% in the past year. Japan had the most government debt (242.9%), while government debt increased at the fastest rate in Singapore (11.3%, 140.0→151.3%).