S. Korea's economy world's 15th largest in 2008

SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's economy was the 15th largest in the world
last year, falling four notches over the last five years, data put out by an
international financial institution showed on Monday.

South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) totaled US$929.1 billion last year,
the 15th highest among 186 countries with comparable data, according to data
released on July 1 by the World Bank (WB).
GDP is the broadest measure of goods and services produced in a country during a
certain period.
After securing the 11th spot in 2003, South Korea has dropped four notches as the
size of other emerging economies including India, Brazil, Russia and Australia
pulled ahead.
Another global lender, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), predicted in April
that the South Korean economy would climb to the 14th spot after first slipping
to 16th place in 2009-10.
The United States retained its top spot on the list with $14.2 trillion in GDP
last year, trailed by Japan with $4.9 trillion, according to World Bank.
China secured third place, nudging Germany from the position it held for several
years to fourth place. China's GDP reached $3.9 billion last year, the World Bank
data showed.
"South Korea's GDP ranking is still subject to a correction as the data is
preliminary," said an official at the Bank of Korea, which publishes the nation's
GDP figures.
"Countries like Brazil, India, and Russia saw a jump in their nominal GDPs,
helped by high economic and price growth while South Korea maintained stable
levels of growth."
pbr@yna.co.kr
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