Government debt by instrument coverage — Debt securities and loans in Korea

Korea: Government debt by instrument coverage — Debt securities and loans was 45.57 Percentage of GDP in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
45.57 Percentage of GDP
Change on year
down 2.2%
Rank
2nd
of 2 groups
All-time high
46.59 Percentage of GDP
in 2023
All-time low
27.64 Percentage of GDP
in 2011
Years of data
14
2011–2024

Government debt by instrument coverage — Debt securities and loans in Korea, 2011–2024

010203040502011201720242011: 27.6 Percentage of GDP2012: 29.5 Percentage of GDP2013: 32.2 Percentage of GDP2014: 33.8 Percentage of GDP2015: 35.5 Percentage of GDP2016: 35.7 Percentage of GDP2017: 34.8 Percentage of GDP2018: 34.5 Percentage of GDP2019: 36.3 Percentage of GDP2020: 41.7 Percentage of GDP2021: 43.8 Percentage of GDP2022: 45.7 Percentage of GDP2023: 46.6 Percentage of GDP2024: 45.6 Percentage of GDP

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of GDP.

Analysis

Korea recorded 45.57 Percentage of GDP for government debt by instrument coverage — debt securities and loans in 2024.

That represents a change of down 2.2% on the previous year and up 34.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government debt by instrument coverage — debt securities and loans in Korea peaked at 46.59 Percentage of GDP in 2023 and was at its lowest, 27.64 Percentage of GDP, in 2011.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.

Government debt by instrument coverage — Debt securities and loans in Korea, year by year

Annual values for Government debt by instrument coverage — Debt securities and loans in Korea, 2011 to 2024.
Year Percentage of GDP Change
2011 27.64 Percentage of GDP
2012 29.49 Percentage of GDP +6.7%
2013 32.2 Percentage of GDP +9.2%
2014 33.84 Percentage of GDP +5.1%
2015 35.51 Percentage of GDP +4.9%
2016 35.73 Percentage of GDP +0.6%
2017 34.84 Percentage of GDP -2.5%
2018 34.54 Percentage of GDP -0.8%
2019 36.32 Percentage of GDP +5.2%
2020 41.75 Percentage of GDP +14.9%
2021 43.81 Percentage of GDP +4.9%
2022 45.69 Percentage of GDP +4.3%
2023 46.59 Percentage of GDP +2.0%
2024 45.57 Percentage of GDP -2.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 33.35 Percentage of GDP 27.64 Percentage of GDP 36.32 Percentage of GDP 9
2020s 44.68 Percentage of GDP 41.75 Percentage of GDP 46.59 Percentage of GDP 5

Countries ranked near Korea

  1. 1 Slovenia 64.5 Percentage of GDP compare
  2. 1 Japan 195.55 Percentage of GDP compare
  3. 2 Poland 61.24 Percentage of GDP compare
  4. 2 Greece 140.51 Percentage of GDP compare
  5. 3 Italy 130.12 Percentage of GDP compare
  6. 3 Latvia 45.53 Percentage of GDP compare
  7. 4 United States 117.01 Percentage of GDP compare
  8. 4 Netherlands 43.64 Percentage of GDP compare
  9. 5 Lithuania 42.01 Percentage of GDP compare
  10. 5 France 116.25 Percentage of GDP compare

See the full ranking of 34 places →

More economy & growth data for Korea

All data for Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is government debt by instrument coverage — debt securities and loans in Korea?
Government debt by instrument coverage — debt securities and loans in Korea was 45.57 Percentage of GDP in 2024, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest government debt by instrument coverage — debt securities and loans recorded in Korea?
The highest recorded value was 46.59 Percentage of GDP in 2023.
What is the lowest government debt by instrument coverage — debt securities and loans recorded in Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 27.64 Percentage of GDP in 2011.
How does Korea rank for government debt by instrument coverage — debt securities and loans?
Korea ranks 2nd out of 2 groups with data for 2024.
Is government debt by instrument coverage — debt securities and loans rising or falling in Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 34.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Korea data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Government debt by instrument coverage — Debt securities and loans. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Government debt by instrument coverage — Debt securities and loans in Korea. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/government-debt-by-instrument-coverage-debt-securities-and-loans/korea/

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About this data

Indicator
Government debt by instrument coverage — Debt securities and loans
Unit
Percentage of GDP
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
34 places, 935 data points, 1995–2026
Last refreshed

The magnitude of government debt and debt-to-GDP ratios varies depending on which measure of debt is used. To promote international comparability, the IMF, the OECD and the World Bank have agreed on a set of standard debt measures, which are defined in the Public Sector Debt Statistics Guide for Compilers and Users and the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014. Government gross debt is shown in four categories: D1 to D4. D1 is the narrowest measure, comprising only two financial instruments: debt securities and loans. D4 (‘total gross debt’) is the broadest measure and includes debt securities, loans, Special Drawing Rights, currency and deposits, other accounts payable and insurance, pensions and standardised guarantees. The D1 to D3 measures are comparable between OECD countries. D4 is the preferred measure of debt in the international accounting standards (System of National Accounts or SNA) but cross-country comparability is more difficult for D4 because countries have different approaches to recording unfunded pension liabilities for government employees. For more information, please see the document: Measuring Government Debt: D1-D4