South Korea has ranked first in the world in the 2016 Bloomberg Innovation Index.
According to the Bloomberg on January 19, South Korea scored 91-point-31 points to secure the top spot in its ranking of economics for the third consecutive year.
Germany ranked second with 85-point-54 points, followed by Sweden, Japan and Switzerland. The United States placed eighth, while China came in 21st.
South Korea notched top scores in manufacturing value-added and tertiary efficiency, and ranked second in R&D intensity, high-tech density and patent activity. However, it placed 39th in productivity.
Director of Studies at the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics Marcus Noland said that South Korea is squeezed between low-wage China on one hand and more technologically advanced Japan on the other. He added the nation has a sense of anxiety or urgency about maintaining its current performance.
