Vietnam's safety standards have been ranked 87th out of 187 countries and territories in the latest UL Safety Index released on Tuesday by Underwriters Laboratories, a global independent safety science company.
The country was given an overall score of 61.9 out of 100.
Despite being preventable, drowning was the top safety concern in Vietnam, followed by road accidents, the report said.
About 6,400 people drown in Vietnam each year, and half of them are aged under 19, official data show.
The country has a 3,260-kilometer coastline and innumerable rivers, canals and ponds.
The UL safety index placed Vietnam sixth among the 10 Southeast Asian nations in terms of overall safety. According to the report, Vietnam’s safety index value has steadily improved since 2000 due to recent laws enacted to enhance occupational safety and health.
A country's safety is assessed based on three criteria: resources and institutions, safety frameworks and safety outcomes.
The safest countries were the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark, while Somalia and South Sudan propped up the index.