South Korea's energy efficiency was the worst among OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) countries in 2004, a local industry group said Wednesday.

South Korea, the world's 11th largest economy, used 335 barrels of oil daily for each 100 million US dollars of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2004, according to the (South) Korea Petroleum Association (KPA).

The figure was worst among the 30 member countries of the OECD, the KPA said, adding South Korea consumed more than double the OECD average of 149 barrels.

South Korea, with 48 million population, is the seventh largest consumer of oil and fourth largest oil importer in the world in 2004.

The country's GDP was 679.6 billion dollars in 2004.

The KPA's report came as the world grapples with rising crude oil prices.

The energy statistics are based on OECD's annual report on the GDP of each member country and British Petroleum data on oil consumption, the KPA explained.

Switzerland had the highest efficiency on the list with 72 barrels, followed by Denmark with 78 barrels and Britain with 82 barrels, respectively, the report noted.

Source: Xinhua