South Korea Rises to 2nd Highest Household Debt Ratio Worldwide Last Year

91.7% by IIF, Second Only to Canada
Fifth Highest Globally in Q3 According to BIS

Household debt in South Korea remains among the highest in the world when considering the scale of the economy, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to the latest global debt report by the Institute of International Finance (IIF), as of the fourth quarter of last year, South Korea's household debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 91.7%, ranking 2nd among 38 countries (including the Eurozone as a single entity). Canada (100.6%) was the only country ahead of South Korea.

The household debt ratio fell by 1.9 percentage points last year, which was the fourth largest decline among 39 countries. However, it still significantly exceeded the overall emerging markets average (46%), the Asian emerging markets average (57.4%), and the global average (60.3%).

Statistics released by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) on the 11th also showed South Korea's household debt-to-GDP ratio at 90.7%, ranking 5th among 44 countries. This was again higher than the emerging markets average (49.1%), the G20 average (61.2%), and the average of surveyed countries (61.9%).

Switzerland ranked 1st with 125.7%, followed by Australia (111.5%), Canada (100.1%), and the Netherlands (94.2%), all exceeding South Korea's ratio.

South Korea's household debt ratio peaked at 99.2% at the end of the third quarter of 2021 and has been declining since. However, its international ranking rose from 6th at the end of the third quarter of 2023 to 5th at the end of the fourth quarter of the same year (93.6%) and has remained there.