Household debt in South Korea is increasing at the third fastest pace among 43 major economies in the world.

According to the Bank of International Settlement on Sunday, South Korea’s ratio of household debt to gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 91-point-six percent in the third quarter of last year, up four-point-six percentage points from a year earlier.

The growth is the third largest after Norway and China, which posted seven-point-three percentage points and five percentage points, respectively.

Switzerland had the highest household debt to GDP ratio of 128-point-two percent, while Australia ranked second with 123-point-one percent.

South Korea's household debt to GDP ratio came in eighth among the 43 countries, but ranked first among emerging economies for 14 straight years.

Global credit rating agencies expected that the Korean economy is unlikely to recover quickly due to growing household debt and interest rate hikes in the United States.