The global ranking of South Korea's nominal gross domestic product (GDP) stayed flat at 15th for the fifth straight year in 2012, data compiled by the World Bank showed Wednesday.

Korea's nominal GDP was valued at $1.13 trillion in 2012, up from $1.11 trillion in the previous year, according to the international organization.

GDP, the broadest measure of an economy's performance, is the total value of goods and services produced within the economy in a given period.

Korea's GDP ranking reached 13th for the second consecutive year in 2006 and 2007 before declining to 15th in 2008 when the country was in the midst of the global financial crisis. Since 2008, its ranking has remained unchanged.

In 2012, the U.S. economy, the world's largest, was valued at $15.7 trillion, followed by China with $8.36 trillion and Japan with $5.96 trillion, it noted.

The data came as South Korea's economy is underperforming its long-term growth potential of some 3.8 percent.

The Korean economy grew 2 percent last year, the slowest growth in three years as exports and domestic demand remained weak amid the global slowdown. Asia's fourth-largest economy is widely expected to grow around 2.7-2.8 percent this year.

Last year, Korea's gross national income per capita valued at $22,670 ranked 49th, up four notches from the previous year, the data showed. (Yonhap News)