KOR Ranks 12th in 'COVID-19 Resilience'... Ranking Drops with Zero Vaccinations

Dropped 4 Ranks from 8th to 12th Last Month
Ranking Lower than China, Vietnam, and UAE as Vaccine-Related Indicators Included from This Month

As the government announced detailed implementation plans for the COVID-19 vaccination, the entrance door to the isolation treatment ward at the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, where the COVID-19 Central Vaccination Center is established, was closed on the 29th. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] South Korea ranked 12th in the list of best countries to live in during the COVID-19 era as of January. The ranking dropped from 8th place last month due to an increase in confirmed cases and a lower vaccine acquisition rate.

On the 31st, Bloomberg's recently compiled 'January COVID-19 Resilience Ranking' placed South Korea 12th out of 53 countries. When the ranking was first compiled in November last year, South Korea was 4th but has since fallen to 12th.

The COVID-19 Resilience Ranking evaluates how well countries control COVID-19 while minimizing social and economic disruption. It assesses 11 factors including confirmed cases per 100,000 population, COVID-19 fatality rate, deaths per 1 million population, vaccine acquisition rate relative to population (including contracts), lockdown severity, interregional mobility, and economic growth forecast.

The recent drop in ranking was largely influenced by low vaccine-related indicators. Starting in January, the number of vaccinated individuals per 100 people was added as an indicator, and South Korea recorded 0 per 100 people, falling behind top-ranking countries in the evaluation.

China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and the UAE, which had lower rankings than South Korea in December last year but rose sharply, had high vaccine acquisition rates or a large number of vaccinated individuals per 100 people. In particular, the UAE ranked second with 22.58 vaccinated individuals per 100 people, following Israel (38.05), significantly boosting its overall ranking.

Bloomberg explained that "China's (5th place) rise in ranking was partly due to its high economic growth forecast of 8.3% this year."

New Zealand took first place in the January resilience ranking. Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, China, Norway, Finland, Japan, Hong Kong, and Vietnam were also included in the top 10.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.