The national debt relative to the size of the economy is set to grow at the fastest clip among 35 advanced economies over the next five years, according to the International Monetary Fund(IMF).

In its recently released Fiscal Monitor report, the IMF projected that South Korea’s general government debt will reach 66-point-seven percent of gross domestic product(GDP) by 2026. 

It marks a rise of 15-point-four percentage points from the comparable figure for this year, and the largest jump among the 35 economies classified as developed by the IMF. 

In fact, the figure for advanced nations was expected to drop by three percentage points from 121-point-six percent to 118-point-six over the cited period. 

The government debt-to-GDP ratio is a concept that compares the national debt of a country with the size of its economy, with higher ratios leading to a decrease in the country's credibility.