South Korea ranked 47th in the world in terms of quality of life, down seven steps from last year.
 
According to an annual report compiled by the research arm of the Korea International Trade Association on Friday, South Korea scored four-point-95 points on a scale of one to ten for quality of life.
 
The Institute for International Trade said the ranking was lower than the United States and Japan as well as China, which was in 45th place. Switzerland topped the list of some 170 countries.
 
South Korea, however, received fairly high scores for technology and research and development. It ranked 14th in research and development investment per person.
 
The institute also ranked the values of global brands and said Samsung was in seventh place.
 
The Institute for International Trade publishes an annual report compiling South Korea's place in the world based on trade, economy and social indexes.