A report says the nation ranks fifth in the world in innovation-based competitiveness.

According to a report by the Washington-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Korea ranked fifth among 40 countries in evaluating how a country is performing in terms of global innovation and competitiveness, and whether or not that performance is expected to continue, decline or increase in the future.

Singapore stood in first place, followed by Sweden, Luxembourg and Denmark. The United States followed behind Korea in sixth place, and Japan ranked ninth.

The research was carried out based on 16 indicators, including human capital, innovation capacity and information technology infrastructure.