South Korea’s household debt-to-gross domestic product ratio stood at the highest level among 34 major economies in the first quarter, global financial data showed.

The ratio stood at 102.2 percent in the January-March period, followed by Hong Kong with a ratio of 95.1 percent, Thailand with 85.7 percent, Britain with 81.6 percent and the United States with 73 percent, according to the Institute of International Finance.

Korea was the only country where household debt exceeded its GDP in the first quarter. But its debt-to-GDP ratio fell 3.3 percentage points from 105.5 percent in the same period of last year, the IIF data showed.

The Bank of Korea’s continued rate hikes last year helped keep the country's household debt from rising further in the first quarter. The central bank raised its key interest rate by 3 percentage points beginning August last year to 3.5 percent in January. (Yonhap)