South Korea has been ranked second in the world in terms of investment in knowledge-related industries in proportion to its gross domestic product (GDP).

According to a report by the World Intellectual Property Organization, Israel invested the most in the knowledge sector in porportion to its GDP as of 2008 and South Korea followed at second.

Only two Asian countries were in the top ten with Japan ranking ninth. China ranked 38th.

As for investment in industrial research and development, China placed ahead of Japan and ranked second only after the United States.

The report says that China's investment in R&D accounted for two-point-two percent of the global total in 1993 but surged to 12-point-eight percent in 2009.