South Korea has once again ranked 26th in the annual Human Development Index released by the U.N. Development Program. The index measures each country's per capita income, life expectancy, educational attainment and other factors.

In the 2009 index the UNDP released Monday, Norway regained the top spot which Iceland had taken away in the last survey. Australia ranked second, and Iceland, which narrowly escaped bankruptcy, fell to third this year.

Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden followed. France rose two notches to eighth place and Switzerland fell two spots to ninth.

The official in charge of the human development report says that although nations are improving in many areas, progress is not even in all countries. He added that the index backtracked in many nations due to the economy, conflicts and spread of AIDS.

This is the fourth straight year that Korea has ranked 26th.