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According to Yonhap News,

(SEJONG=Yonhap News) South Korea's economic growth rate in the last 10 years was the sixth highest among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members, official data showed Monday.

According to numbers released by the Paris-based organization of developed market economies with high income, Asia's fourth-largest economy grew at an average of 3.7 percent annually from 2005 to 2014. This is about 2.5 times higher than the average for the 34-member OECD that stood at just 1.5 percent.

Chile ranked No. 1 with its average gross domestic product (GDP) rising 4.2 percent during this period, with Turkey, Israel, Poland and Slovakia rounding out the top five. With the exception of Israel, which had a per capita GDP of US$30,404 in 2014, the remaining four states had a per capita GDP under $30,000.

Among countries with a per capita GDP exceeding $30,000, South Korea effectively led the pack. In 2014, the OECD said the country's per capita GDP stood at $33,657.

The latest findings, moreover, showed that while many OECD members suffered from a period of weak growth right after the 2008 global financial crisis, South Korea's grew an average of 3.2 percent from 2009 to 2014. This represents a 1.1 percentage point dip from the 4.3 percent average reached in the 2005-2008 period.

In contrast, growth in Chile, Turkey, Israel and Poland fell by 1.4 to 2.2 percentage points.

The OECD report showed that the United States grew by an average of 1.6 percent annually in the cited 10 years, with numbers for Germany and Japan standing at 1.3 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

Among member states, Portugal and Italy reported minus growth of 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent, each. The Greek economy contracted 2 percent in the decade.

The report showed that while many countries posted negative growth following the global financial crisis, with the economies of the U.S. and Japan contracting 2.8 percent and 5.5 percent on-year in 2009, South Korea never fell into minus territory.

Only, Poland, Israel and Australia shared this distinction.

South Korea's government, meanwhile, predicted that for 2015, growth will stand at 3.1 percent, down from its earlier prediction of 3.8 percent.

yonngong@yna.co.kr

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