South Korea’s per capita gross domestic product(GDP) is approaching the level of Japan’s.

According to private think tank Hyundai Research Institute on Tuesday, South Korea’s per capita GDP posted 27-thousand-226 U.S. dollars last year, reaching 84 percent of Japan’s 32-thousand-432 dollars. 

It is the first time that the gap between the two countries fell under 20 percent since the International Monetary Fund(IMF) started compiling such data in 1981.

Senior researcher Joo Won at the institute said that the gap decreased because South Korea’s nominal GDP growth rate is higher than that of Japan and the depreciation of the Japanese currency is accelerating.

South Korea’s per capita GDP is expected to surpass 30-thousand dollars next year.