Korea climbs to 10th in global digital, AI competitiveness ranking

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South Korea ranked 10th among 70 countries in digital and artificial intelligence (AI) competitiveness, climbing eight places from last year to return to the global top 10.…

South Korea ranked 10th among 70 countries in digital and artificial intelligence (AI) competitiveness, climbing eight places from last year to return to the global top 10.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on Wednesday, Korea placed 10th in the 2026 World Digital and AI Ranking (WDAIR) released by the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

Korea ranked fourth among 32 countries with populations of more than 20 million, behind the United States, Canada, and China, and third among 15 Asia-Pacific economies. After slipping to 18th last year, it rebounded to 10th this year.

Korea improved its standing in all five assessment categories. Its efficiency ranking rose 10 places to third from 13th, with workforce development climbing to 20th from 24th. Its technology & infrastructure ranking also improved to third from seventh.

Korea retained its global lead in research and development (R&D) spending as a share of gross domestic product. It ranked third in AI patent publications and eighth in AI research papers.

Government digital infrastructure indicators also placed Korea near the top. It ranked first globally in government core systems, public service delivery and online government services.

However, Korea ranked 47th in both the adequacy of its AI regulatory framework and corporate compliance with AI regulations, highlighting a gap between its advanced digital government infrastructure and its regulatory environment for AI.

In AI adoption and talent-related indicators, Korea ranked 10th in public trust in AI, eighth in AI readiness, and 12th in AI education. Its ranking for attracting highly skilled foreign talent improved to 44th from 61st last year, but it placed only 59th in securing digital technology workers, pointing to a relative weakness in talent acquisition compared with its technological competitiveness.

The IMD, meanwhile, revamped its World Digital Competitiveness Ranking this year as the WDAIR to reflect changes in…

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