Korea Ranks 21st in Bloomberg's COVID-19 Resilience Index... Drops 12 Places in One Month, Reasons Explained

Citizens who visited the screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 27th are waiting to get tested. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Seoyoung] South Korea has dropped 12 places in Bloomberg's monthly 'Covid Resilience Ranking,' falling out of the top 10.

According to Bloomberg's 'February Covid Resilience Ranking' released on the 27th, South Korea ranked 21st among 53 countries evaluated. This ranking is based on 11 indicators across three categories?economic activity resumption, Covid-19 status, and quality of life?to assess how effectively each country is responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since Bloomberg first published the rankings in November 2020, South Korea had consistently maintained a high position, ranking 4th initially. However, it fell to 26th in August and September last year. After rebounding several times, it rose to 9th place in January but has now slipped out of the top 10 again in the latest statistics.

According to Bloomberg, South Korea has shown improvement in Covid-19 related indicators such as 'confirmed cases per 100,000 population,' 'fatality rate over the past three months,' and 'deaths per 1 million population.' However, some indicators related to economic activity resumption and quality of life have weakened.

The overall top spot in the Covid Resilience Ranking remains with the UAE, as in the previous month. Following are Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Australia, Spain, Finland, Colombia, the United Kingdom, and Portugal in the top 10. Among them, Australia rose 42 places as the spread of the Omicron variant declined and it allowed foreign tourists to enter for the first time in two years.

On the other hand, Iran dropped 25 places due to losses in economic activity resumption, including tightening Covid-19 restrictions and closing schools. Pakistan ranked lowest in the Covid resilience category, while Russia and Hong Kong, experiencing surges in Covid-19 cases, ranked 51st and 52nd respectively.

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