South Korea’s national debt in proportion to gross domestic product(GDP) surpassed 50 percent in 2021 and is projected to approach 60 percent in 2029.

The findings were released on Wednesday in the International Monetary Fund’s Fiscal Monitor report, which presented the IMF’s estimates on national debt-to-GDP ratios in 37 economies including South Korea, the U.S. and Japan for the period of 2015 to 2029. 

In the report, the IMF estimated South Korea’s ratio at 55-point-two percent for 2023, up one-point-four percentage points from the previous year. 

According to the IMF, the country’s ratio, which stood at 40-point-eight percent in 2015, soared to 48-point-seven percent in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and exceeded 50 percent for the first time in 2021 to reach 51-point-three percent.
 
The IMF projected the ratio will reach 56-point-six percent this year and 59-point-four percent in 2029. 

IMF’s national debt is calculated to include debt at nonprofit state-run agencies as well as government debt.

Last week, the government said the nation’s debt-to GDP ratio, which is based on government debt, hit an all-time high of 50-point-four percent last year, surpassing 50 percent for the first time.