Economic complexity rankings in South Korea
South Korea: Economic complexity rankings was 4 in 2016. ▼ Falling
Economic complexity rankings in South Korea, 1964–2016
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2016, economic complexity rankings in South Korea stood at 4.
That represents a change of up 33.3% on the previous year and down 60.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, economic complexity rankings in South Korea peaked at 29 in 1976 and was at its lowest, 3, in 2014.
That places South Korea 118th out of 121 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.
Economic complexity rankings in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 23 | — |
| 1965 | 23 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 21 | -8.7% |
| 1967 | 20 | -4.8% |
| 1968 | 24 | +20.0% |
| 1969 | 24 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 25 | +4.2% |
| 1971 | 26 | +4.0% |
| 1972 | 27 | +3.8% |
| 1973 | 23 | -14.8% |
| 1974 | 22 | -4.3% |
| 1975 | 23 | +4.5% |
| 1976 | 29 | +26.1% |
| 1977 | 29 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 24 | -17.2% |
| 1979 | 23 | -4.2% |
| 1980 | 23 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 22 | -4.3% |
| 1982 | 23 | +4.5% |
| 1983 | 23 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 18 | -21.7% |
| 1985 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 19 | +5.6% |
| 1988 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 18 | -5.3% |
| 1991 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 19 | +5.6% |
| 1993 | 24 | +26.3% |
| 1994 | 22 | -8.3% |
| 1995 | 22 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 21 | -4.5% |
| 1997 | 19 | -9.5% |
| 1998 | 21 | +10.5% |
| 1999 | 20 | -4.8% |
| 2000 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 18 | -10.0% |
| 2002 | 17 | -5.6% |
| 2003 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 14 | -17.6% |
| 2006 | 10 | -28.6% |
| 2007 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 11 | +10.0% |
| 2010 | 8 | -27.3% |
| 2011 | 7 | -12.5% |
| 2012 | 8 | +14.3% |
| 2013 | 4 | -50.0% |
| 2014 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 2015 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 4 | +33.3% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 4 is below the median for high income countries, which is 23, 17% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 4 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 42, 10% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Economic complexity rankings in South Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | -50.0% | 8 | 4 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 22.5 | 20 | 24 | 6 |
| 1970s | 25.1 | 22 | 29 | 10 |
| 1980s | 20.2 | 18 | 23 | 10 |
| 1990s | 20.4 | 18 | 24 | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.4 | 10 | 20 | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.29 | 3 | 8 | 7 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More economy & growth data for South Korea
- Real gdp growth, annual growth rate -49.75 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate 7.89 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0085 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 307.17 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate 2.74 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0062 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 224.29 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate 4.58 % change on previous year (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0047 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per capita 168.75 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is economic complexity rankings in South Korea?
- Economic complexity rankings in South Korea was 4 in 2016, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest economic complexity rankings recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 29 in 1976.
- What is the lowest economic complexity rankings recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 3 in 2014.
- How does South Korea rank for economic complexity rankings?
- South Korea ranks 118th out of 121 countries with data for 2016.
- Is economic complexity rankings rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 60.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Economic complexity rankings. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).