South Korea reclaimed the top spot in a key science and research metric calculated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD).

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on Tuesday, South Korea came first in the OECD’s Main Science and Technology Indicators report in terms of the ratio of research and development(R&D) spending to gross domestic product(GDP).

South Korea secured four-point-55 percent in 2017 in R&D intensity, which refers to the R&D-to-GDP ratio. The country edged out Israel by a difference of point-01 percentage point. 

Israel, which has led the category for much of the past two decades, was far above South Korea at the turn of the century. However by 2013 Seoul had more than doubled its R&D intensity value and claimed the top spot for the first time. 

South Korea fell to number two, behind Israel, in 2015 and 2016, but recaptured the top place in 2017.