Korea climbs 8 spots to rank 10th in global digital, AI competitiveness

The Korea Times - Nov 11, 2026

Korea jumped eight places to rank 10th out of 70 nations in the 2026 World Digital and AI Competitiveness Ranking (WDAIR), published Wednesday by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) — the prestigious Swiss business school known for its benchmark global competitiveness evaluations. Among nations with populations exceeding 20 million, Korea secured fourth place, trailing only the United States, Canada and China. The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that Korea achieved comprehensive improvements across all five evaluated categories: Governance, Technological Infrastructure, Efficiency, Human Resources Development and Societal Attitudes & Values. Notably, Korea jumped 10 places to rank third globally in Efficiency and climbed four spots to third in Technological Infrastructure. Korea demonstrated unmatched leadership in government execution and technological foundation, claiming the top spot worldwide in both the Government Core Systems Index and total research and development (R&D) expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product. The nation also mainta

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