Korea ranked 27th among 67 countries in the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) national competitiveness evaluation. This is a drop of 7 places from last year.
According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, IMD announced the results of the '2025 National Competitiveness Evaluation' on the 17th.
Each June, IMD releases its World Competitiveness Yearbook, targeting members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and emerging countries. This assesses the capabilities of countries and corporations to enhance their wealth and improve quality of life.
Based on quantitative indicators and surveys conducted by IMD from March to May this year, Korea's national competitiveness rank is 27th this year, dropping 7 places from last year's 20th.
The presidential office explained, "The negative impact on national competitiveness is closely related to the poor performance last year and the uncertainties in politics and the economy following the domestic unrest."
Switzerland ranked first, followed by Singapore, Hong Kong, Denmark, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The United States ranked 13th, China 16th, and Japan 35th.
Looking at the four major sectors, 'corporate efficiency' dropped from 23rd to 44th, leading to an overall decline in ranking. Other areas where rankings fell include productivity (33rd to 45th), labor market (31st to 53rd), finance (29th to 33rd), management practices (28th to 55th), and attitudes and values (11th to 33rd).
The infrastructure sector also fell from 11th to 21st. This decline is the result of drops in rankings for basic infrastructure (14th to 35th), technological infrastructure (16th to 39th), scientific infrastructure (1st to 2nd), education (19th to 27th), and health and environment (30th to 32nd).
The economic performance sector rose from 16th to 11th place, thanks to improvements in international trade (47th to 34th), international investment (35th to 21st), and prices (39th to 13th). However, due to a decrease in the growth rate of gross fixed capital formation (domestic investment), the ranking for the domestic economy fell (7th to 8th), along with a relative worsening in unemployment rates compared to other countries, resulting in a drop in employment ranking (4th to 5th).
The government efficiency sector rose from 39th to 31st. Rankings improved in three areas: finance (38th to 21st), tax policies (34th to 30th), and institutional conditions (30th to 24th), but fell in two areas: corporate conditions (47th to 50th) and social conditions (29th to 36th).
The presidential office stated, "We plan to systematically respond at the inter-agency level to enhance national competitiveness and external credibility by activating the National Competitiveness Policy Council's operations at the Ministry of Economy and Finance."