South Korea's global competitiveness ranking dropped by one notch to 28th in an annual ranking released by the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development(IMD).

The finance ministry said on Tuesday that South Korea ranked 28th among 64 countries assessed in the 2023 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking measuring a country's economic performance and infrastructure as well as government and corporate efficiency.

In the category of economic performance, South Korea moved up by eight notches from a year earlier to come in at a record high of 14th this year.

However, the country dropped by two notches from a year ago to 38th in government efficiency, apparently due to an increase in the country’s fiscal deficit and national debt.

The nation came in at 16th and 33rd in infrastructure and corporate efficiency, respectively, to remain unchanged from the previous year.

Among the 27 nations with a population of 20 million or more, South Korea’s ranking held steady from 2022 at ninth.

Denmark topped the list this year, followed by Ireland and Switzerland.