The Ministry of Finance and Economy on June 18 said the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development this year ranked Korea’s national competitiveness 21st in the world. (Seoul Metropolitan Government)
By Lee Dasom
Korea’s national competitiveness this year has reached its second-highest global ranking in history.
The Ministry of Finance and Economy on June 18 said the country ranked 21st out of 70 states in the latest World Competitiveness Ranking of the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD). This was six spots higher than last year’s finish and the second highest for Korea since its inclusion in the evaluation since 1997.
The nation was also second after the U.S. in the “30-50 club,” or countries with a per capita income of at least USD 30,000 and a population of 50 million or higher.
The higher finish was thanks to improvements in business efficiency and infrastructure among the IMD’s four major categories.
Korea’s business efficiency saw a major jump from 44th to 34th in just a year, as rankings improved in five categories: productivity and efficiency, labor market, finance, management practices, and attitudes and values.
Its place in infrastructure jumped six notches to 15th. By sector, rankings improved for basic and technological infrastructure, health and environment, and education while that for scientific infrastructure remained at second for the second straight year.
But in economic performance, Korea fell three places to 14th despite improvements in international trade and investment, as rankings declined in the domestic economy, employment and prices.
The ministry said, “We plan to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of our economy by referring to the evaluation results, in addition to expediting ongoing institutional improvement and innovation to raise overall national competitiveness.”
dlektha0319@korea.kr
