The 26th ranking, a nosedive from a record high of 11th place reached in 2007, is one notch below the 25th ranking two years ago.
The country came in 13th in market size, 23rd in higher education and training, 26th in goods market efficiency, 27th in technological readiness, 83rd in labor market efficiency and 87th in financial market development.
China, the world's No. 2 economy, remained unchanged at 28th in 2015, and Taiwan ranked 15th, the WEF said in its Global Competitiveness Report based on a survey of 140 countries.
Saudi Arabia came in 25th, one notch ahead of South Korea, and Israel 27th, one spot below South Korea.
Switzerland retained its No. 1 position, followed by Singapore, the United States, Germany and the Netherlands. Japan and Hong Kong kept their sixth and seventh spots, respectively. Others included in the top 10 were Finland, Sweden and United Kingdom.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
