Containers are stacked at Pyeongtaek Port in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Mar. 1 as Korea’s exports surge on strong semiconductor shipments.YONHAP
Korea’s national competitiveness ranking rose six spots to No. 21 among 70 economies this year, lifted by a sharp improvement in assessments of the country's booming business environment.
The latest ranking is Korea's second-highest since it was included in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking survey in 1997. Its peak came in 2024, when Korea ranked No. 20, but it then dropped to No. 27 last year.
Swiss business school IMD evaluates economies each year across four broad categories: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure. This year’s ranking reflected data from last year and survey responses from business executives collected from March to May.
Among the so-called 30-50 club, or countries with per capita income of more than $30,000 and populations of more than 50 million, Korea ranked second after the United States, which placed No.10. Korea narrowly edged out Germany at No. 23 and the United Kingdom at No. 24, and also placed ahead of Japan at No. 30
The overall gain was driven by improvements in business efficiency and infrastructure.
Korea’s business efficiency ranking rose to No.34 from No. 44. All five subcategories improved: Productivity and efficiency rose to No. 34 from No. 45, the labor market to No. 45 from No. 53, finance to No. 29 from No. 33, management practices to No. 49 from No. 55 and attitudes and values to No. 18 from No. 33.
The business efficiency ranking had plunged to No. 44 from No. 23 last year, a drop attributed to uncertainty after the martial law crisis of Dec. 3, 2024. The latest result suggests concerns have eased under the Lee Jae Myung administration and that the category is returning closer to previous levels.
The infrastructure ranking rose to No. 15 from No. 21. Basic infrastructure improved to No. 28 from No. 35, technological infrastructure to No. 27 from No. 39, health and environment to No. 29 from No. 32 and education to No. 21 from No. 27 Scientific infrastructure remained strong at second.
Kia vehicles bound for export are parked at Pyeongtaek port in Gyeonggi on April 3.NEWS1
Korea’s economic performance ranking slipped to No. 14 from No. 11. International trade improved to No. 33 from No. 34 and international investment to No. 20 from No. 21, but the domestic economy fell to No. 10 from No. 8, employment to No. 7 from No. 5 and prices to No. 40 from No. 30.
The domestic economy score was weighed down by weak growth. Korea’s real GDP grew 1.1 percent last year after expanding only 0.4 percent on year in the first half, despite a rebound to 1.8 percent growth in the second half.
The government efficiency ranking held steady at No. 31. Tax policy rose to No. 22 from 30th, institutional framework to No. 21 from No. 24 and societal framework to No. 30 from No. 36. Public finance slipped to No. 22 from No. 21 and business legislation fell to No. 53 from No. 50
“We will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the Korean economy based on this competitiveness ranking and continue efforts to improve systems and promote innovation,” a Ministry of Finance and Economy official said.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
