South Korea’s global competitiveness ranking rose to the highest level at 20th this year.

The International Institute for Management Development(IMD) said in its annual report that South Korea ranked 20th in terms of world competitiveness among 67 countries surveyed in 2024, up eight notches from the previous year.

IMD is a Switzerland-based organization that releases annual competitiveness rankings based on a country's economic achievements, infrastructure, and government and corporate efficiency. South Korea has been included in the report since 1997.

Singapore climbed four notches from last year to take the first spot, followed by Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland and Hong Kong. The United States and China ranked 12th and 14th, respectively, while Japan was placed 38th.

Among 30 nations with a population of 20 million or more, South Korea ranked seventh this year. Of the countries that have a population of over 50 million and gross national income per capita above 30-thousand dollars, South Korea came in second after the United States.