South Korea Ranks 5th in COVID Recovery Resilience... Japan and Taiwan Plummet

Vaccine Coverage Still in the Lower-Middle Range

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] An analysis has revealed that South Korea ranks 5th globally in COVID-19 resilience. This is a one-step improvement from last month, placing it above China, the United States, and Japan. However, its vaccine acquisition rate and economic growth forecast still remain within the 30th rank range. Japan and Taiwan, which have recently been struggling due to the spread of COVID-19, experienced a sharp drop in their rankings.

According to Bloomberg's "May COVID-19 Resilience Rankings" compiled on the 25th (local time), South Korea ranked 5th among 53 countries with an economic size exceeding $200 billion (approximately 223 trillion KRW). New Zealand took first place, followed by Singapore, Australia, and Israel in 2nd to 4th places respectively. The survey included major countries such as China (9th), the United Kingdom (11th), the United States (13th), Japan (14th), and Taiwan (15th).

Bloomberg's COVID-19 resilience ranking evaluates how well major countries control the pandemic while minimizing socio-economic disruption. The index is based on 11 criteria, including confirmed cases per 100,000 people, fatality rate, deaths per 1 million people, vaccine acquisition rate relative to population, lockdown intensity, interregional mobility, and economic growth forecast, with a perfect score of 100 points.

South Korea was ranked 4th when the index was first compiled in November last year but dropped to 12th in January this year. However, it has since reversed the trend, rising from 8th in February to 5th this month.

South Korea's rise in ranking is attributed to overall improvements compared to the previous month. It ranked 3rd in interregional mobility, following New Zealand and Iraq, and placed 10th in deaths per 1 million people and lockdown intensity. However, its vaccine acquisition rate relative to population (37th) and this year's economic growth rate (GDP) forecast (31st) were in the lower-middle tier. Bloomberg predicted that "at the current pace, South Korea will take 1.6 years to complete vaccination for 75% of its total population."

The survey highlighted the poor performance of major East Asian countries that were considered exemplary in early COVID-19 containment. Singapore, which was ranked 1st last month, dropped one place to 2nd. Japan, with only two months left before the Tokyo Olympics, fell from 7th to 14th, and Taiwan plummeted from 5th to 15th.

Bloomberg stated, "Countries with faster vaccination rates occupied the top ranks, causing Asian countries' rankings to decline. Taiwan and Japan fell out of the top 10 due to sluggish vaccination rates and COVID-19 resurgence, while the United States and major European countries are gradually emerging from the pandemic, resuming travel and removing mask mandates." It added, "As seen with the United Kingdom rising from 18th to 11th and the United States from 17th to 13th, vaccination is the decisive factor in this year's resilience rankings."

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