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With an overall score of 24.5 out of 100, Vietnam did better than its Southeast Asian neighbors like the Philippines (44th), Cambodia (55th) and Myanmar (58th), according to a report released by U.S. News and World Report, an American media company that publishes news, analysis, consumer advice, and rankings.
In Southeast Asia, Vietnam was ranked below Singapore (14th), Thailand (28th), Malaysia (36th) and Indonesia (37th).
The report ranked 78 countries and territories around the world based on nine categories: adventure, citizenship, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, movers (economic growth rate based on 2019 GDP figures), openness for business, power and quality of life that have the potential to drive trade, travel and investment and directly affect national economies.
The report used data gathered from a proprietary survey of more than 17,000 business leaders; college educated individuals in America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa that are middle class or higher; and general citizens who are nationally representative of their country.
Vietnam performed best in power, heritage, openness for business and mover categories.
The nation was one of the best performing economies in the world with its GDP having grown at 7.02 percent in 2019.
Vietnam's GDP reached an all-time high of $262 billion in 2019 while the country's per capita income in 2019 hit $2,715, the report revealed.
In terms of heritage, Vietnam, home to eight world heritage sites recognized by UNESCO, stood at 25th globally while the country ranked 21st in terms of openness for business.
For the power category that measures a country's economic influence, political influence, international alliance and military, Vietnam rose six places from last year to 25th, surpassing Asian neighbors like New Zealand, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
However, it did not fare well in terms of cultural influence, entrepreneurship, social purpose, and quality of life.
Canada surpassed Switzerland to hold the spot as the best country in the world in 2021, followed by Japan and Germany. Switzerland moved to the fourth spot.
The U.S. and China, the world's two most powerful economies, ranked sixth and 19th respectively.
The bottom ranked economy this year was war-torn Iraq.
