According to Yonhap News,

(SEJONG=Yonhap News) South Korea's global competitiveness ranking climbed one notch in 2015 from a year earlier as the country got higher marks on economic growth and corporate sector efficiency, an international institute said Thursday.

According to the 2015 World Competitiveness Yearbook released by Swiss-based Institute for Management Development (IMD), South Korea ranked 25th in terms of competitiveness among the 61 economies surveyed.

The rankings, released every year from 1997 onwards by the world-renowned business school, are based on the assessment of a country's economic achievements, soundness of infrastructure and government, and corporate efficiency and innovations.

Asia's fourth-largest economy ranked high in terms of technology and scientific infrastructure, employment and domestic economic conditions. Of the 342 areas checked, it made the top five in 21, coming in at No. 2 in terms of research and development outlays compared to its gross domestic product, and fourth in the number of patents filed.

The country did not do as well in management activities, consumer prices, business-related laws, and overall labor market conditions.

"The latest report showed South Korea's ranking go up thanks to aggressive economic reform measures and sound macroeconomic policies that compared favorably to other countries," the finance ministry here said in an analysis of the IMD report.

It said the country must follow through on its economic innovation three- year plan and implement structural changes in the labor and education sectors to make the country more competitive.

South Korea's 2015 standing is lower than its highest ever position of 22nd held from 2011 through 2013, but it is a step up compared to Group of 20 (G20) nations and those with a population of more than 20 million.

Among the G20, whose ranking slipped 1.1 on average, South Korea's national competitiveness stood at seventh, while among countries with more than 20 million people, it ranked ninth.

Japan, the world's third largest economy and a G20 member, slipped sharply to 27th from 21st in 2014 when 60 economies were checked.

Asian countries like Indonesia fell to 42nd place from 37th, with Malaysia and Thailand losing ground as well, mainly from the weakening of their domestic economies and the impact of aging infrastructure. On the other hand, rankings for Taiwan rose two notches to 11th place, with the Philippines gaining one notch to 41st.

The latest IMD report showed the United States holding onto its top spot, followed by Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland and Canada.

Numbers for Hong Kong and Canada rose two notches each this year compared to 2014, while Switzerland's ranking backtracked by two.

Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Germany made the top 10.

Among the large emerging economies, China ranked 22nd from 23rd the year before, with Mexico climbing to 39th from 41st. Brazil and South Africa, on the other hand, lost ground with their rankings standing at 56th and 53rd, respectively.

The report put Venezuela at the bottom of the list, with Ukraine struggling with armed rebellion plunging from 49th to 60th.

Russia, slapped with international sanctions for its involvement in Ukraine, slipped to 45th place from 38th.

yonngong@yna.co.kr

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