Measure
Snapshot
South Korea
Ranked 7 of 27 for comprehensive power, with an overall score of 31.5 out of 100.
Gained 0.5 points (+1% change) in overall score in 2025.
Measure
Analysis
South Korea is a middle power in Asia.
South Korea's score rose by 0.5 points in 2025.
South Korea’s strongest measure is defence networks, where it ranks fourth. Additionally, it placed fifth for three measures — economic capability, military capability, and economic relationships. For the 2025 edition, it increased its cultural influence score by 2.3 points, and rose to seventh for this measure, overtaking Thailand.
South Korea’s weakest measures are resilience and future resources, where it places eighth for both.
Since the previous edition, South Korea’s ranking for diplomatic influence has dropped one place to sixth, being overtaken by Indonesia. This decline is a result of diminished perceptions by experts on the efficacy of South Korea’s foreign policy.
South Korea exerts more influence in the region than expected given its available resources, as indicated by the country’s positive Power Gap score. A net overachiever in Asia, South Korea’s positive Power Gap score improved in 2025.
Read more analysis in the Key Findings report. Explore further results in the Scores section.
Annual changes
Bilateral Influence
Bilateral trade, current dollars (2024)
Countries that influence South Korea
Globally, which countries does South Korea do most of its trade with?
Countries influenced by South Korea
Which countries in the region rely most on trade with South Korea?
Scores
Comprehensive power
A country’s weighted average across eight measures of power
7th
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Rank
Change
Trend
Score