South Korea’s competitiveness in education has ranked 29th globally this year, up six places from 2010.

The Education, Science and Technology Ministry said that the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, published by the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD), ranked Denmark first, followed by Ireland and Finland.

Among Asian nations, Singapore ranked tenth in education competitiveness, Taiwan ranked 25th, Hong Kong finished 28th, Japan came in 34th and China ranked 43rd.

This rise in South Korea’s competitiveness ranking in overall education is attributed to a sharp qualitative rise this year in the educational system, university education, and language abilities.