Vietnam slips a few notches in best country ranking

By Nguyen Quy   January 16, 2020 | 07:00 pm PT
Vietnam slips a few notches in best country ranking
A man works at an assembly line of Vinfast Auto factory in Hai Phong City, Vietnam, June 14, 2019. Photo by Reuters/Kham.
Vietnam slipped four places to 43rd in the annual Best Countries Overall Rankings 2020 despite performing well in economic growth, heritage and business openness categories.

The country gained an overall score of 2.1 on a scale of 10, according to a report released by U.S. News and World Report, an American media company that publishes news, analysis, consumer advice, and rankings.

The report ranked 73 countries and territories around the world based on nine categories: adventure, citizenship, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, movers (economic growth rate), open 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 20,000 business leaders; college educated individuals in America, Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa that are middle class or higher; and general citizens who are nationally representative of their country.

Vietnam performed best in heritage, open for business and movers categories.

The report said the country was heavily favored for cheap manufacturing costs, favorable tax environment and transparent government practices.

Vietnam was one of the best performing economies in the world as the country's GDP grew at 7.02 percent in 2019.

The country is home to eight world heritage sites recognized by UNESCO: the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, My Son Sanctuary, Hoi An ancient town and the Complex of Hue Monuments in central Vietnam; Ha Long Bay, Trang An Landscape Complex, Thang Long Imperial Citadel and the Ho Dynasty Citadel in the northern region.

However, it did not fare well in terms of cultural influence, entrepreneurship, power, and quality of life.

Switzerland retained its spot as the best country in the world in 2020, followed by Canada and Japan.

The world’s leading economy, the U.S., jumped one place from last year to seventh position, while China climbed one spot to 15 this year.

In the Southeast Asian region, Vietnam was ranked below Singapore (16), Thailand (26), Malaysia (32) and Indonesia (41); and above the Philippines (45) and Myanmar (57).

The bottom ranked economy in this year’s ranking was Lebanon, following Serbia and Oman.

 
 
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