South Korea has moved up to 23rd in an annual survey of national competitiveness. 

The Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development’s
survey announced the latest World Competitiveness Ranking for 63 countries, in which South Korea moved up five notches from last year. 

It marks the biggest on-year climb for South Korea since 2000 and is the second highest position the country has reached in the survey following 22nd, where it sat from 2011 to 2013. 

Among the seven members of the so-called 30-50 club, or countries with at least 30-thousand U.S. dollars in per-capita income and 50-million population, South Korea ranked fourth, trailing the U.S., Germany and the U.K. 

South Korea improved in three out of four major metrics -- government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure -- while its ranking in economic performance remained unchanged at 27th. 

Singapore topped the list for the second year in a row, followed by Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Hong Kong. The U.S. and China fell by seven and six notches to 10th and 20th, respectively, due in part to trade tension between the world’s largest economies, while Japan also saw its standing slide to 34th from 30th.