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

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 maintained third place in R&D infrastructure and IT/media market capitalization.

In the newly introduced AI-focused indicators, Korea posted strong performances across the board. The country ranked eighth in the AI Adoption Index, AI Papers and in AI Readiness, while it placed 10th in Citizens’ Trust in AI. Additionally, Korea moved up to 20th in corporate agility — rising from 46th last year — and saw notable gains in venture capital availability and high-skilled foreign talent recruitment.

The IMD updated its evaluation framework this year from the former World Digital Competitiveness Ranking to the WDAIR, incorporating AI adoption, governance and ethics metrics, with historical rankings retroactively adjusted back to 2022.

“The eight-step leap in our digital and AI competitiveness reflects Korea’s strong national resilience and the government’s unwavering commitment to artificial intelligence,” said Lee Do-gyu, deputy minister of the Office of Information and Communication Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT. “We will continue to advance our position by seamlessly executing key national initiatives, including our three megaprojects and seven SEED (strategic emerging engines for disruptive innovation) projects.”

Regionally, Singapore topped the Asia-Pacific region at second overall, followed by China at seventh, Korea at 10th, Taiwan at 13th and Japan at 19th. The United States reclaimed the top spot globally, while last year’s leader Canada fell to fifth.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.