Vietnam soars in Covid recovery index post pandemic

Vietnam ranked 14th out of 121 countries and territories, logging its best performances, in the May edition of Nikkei’s Covid-19 Recovery Index.

The nation, scoring 68 in total, jumped 48 places from last month's ranking, thanks to a world-leading vaccination rate and its full tourism reopening.

Notably, among Asian countries and territories, Vietnam made it to the top six.

With more than 80% of the population fully vaccinated and 60% boosted, Vietnam received a score of 27 out of a possible 30 for inoculations.

Qatar placed top, with Cambodia, neighboring Vietnam, coming in second.

Along with Vietnam, the Philippines also showed great improvement, up 40 places to rank 33 in May. Last year, both Vietnam and the Philippines occupied bottom place on the index.

The index assesses countries and territories on their infection management, vaccine rollouts and social mobility. The higher the ranking, the closer a place is to recovery, characterized by lower infection and death rates, better inoculation coverage, as well as fewer movement restrictions.

Vietnam has abolished its Covid-19 testing requirement for people entering the country since May 15.