South Korea ranked 15th out of 140 countries in the World Economic Forum's(WEF) global competitiveness index this year, up two notches from a year ago.

The nation placed 26th among 137 countries last year, but the ranking translates to 17th according to the WEF's new evaluation scheme. 

The Finance Ministry said on Wednesday that South Korea made the top 30 list in ten of 12 categories and ranked first in two areas, ICT adoption and macroeconomic stability. 

The United States placed first, followed by Singapore and Germany.