Rank in the Economic Complexity Index in South Korea
South Korea: Rank in the Economic Complexity Index was 4 in 2016. ▼ Falling
Rank in the Economic Complexity Index in South Korea, 1964–2016
Source: Observatory of Economic Complexity and Atlas of Economic Complexity (2016) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2016, rank in the economic complexity index 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, rank in the economic complexity index 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.
Rank in the Economic Complexity Index 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 Rank in the Economic Complexity Index 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
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps 41.23 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.022 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 797.74 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled 15.80 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual 22.87 % change on previous year (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.0084 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 305.78 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 4.39 % change on previous year (2025)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2332 includes gold, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), per capita 8,447 includes gold, current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rank in the economic complexity index in South Korea?
- Rank in the economic complexity index in South Korea was 4 in 2016, according to Observatory of Economic Complexity and Atlas of Economic Complexity (2016) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rank in the economic complexity index recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 29 in 1976.
- What is the lowest rank in the economic complexity index recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 3 in 2014.
- How does South Korea rank for rank in the economic complexity index?
- South Korea ranks 118th out of 121 countries with data for 2016.
- Is rank in the economic complexity index 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 Observatory of Economic Complexity and Atlas of Economic Complexity (2016) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Rank in the Economic Complexity Index. 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).
About this data
The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) takes data on exports, and reduces a country’s economic system into two dimensions: (i) The number or ‘diversification’ of products in the export basket, and (ii) the quality, or ‘ubiquity’ of products in the export basket. This map ranks countries by ECI scores. The highest rank is 1 and corresponds to the country with the most complex economy in that year.