Abstract: Statistics from World Development Indicators (WDI) show that the GDPs of South Korea and Nigeria were US$4.7 billion and US$5.2 billion, respectively as at 1967. However by 2009, South Korea had advanced leaving Nigeria behind by US$665 billion. With respect to innovation, measured by the amount of scientific publications, Nigeria was ahead of South Korea by 79% in 1985. By 2009, South Korea was already ahead of Nigeria by over 4,000%. With the aid of descriptive analyses, this study examined the factors responsible for these gaps by comparing both countries using data from the WDI and Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI). The results affirm that human capital, institutions and innovation are factors responsible for the differences between both countries. This study concluded by drawing our relevant recommendations for development of Nigeria.