Vietnam ranks 8th of 121 countries and territories in COVID-19 Recovery Index. (File photo: VOV)

Nikkei's COVID-19 Recovery Index reflects the capacity to control infection, achievements in COVID-19 vaccination, and maintenance of social activities. The higher the index, the closer the country/territory approaches recovery, with low infection and mortality rates, high vaccine coverage, and less strict social distancing measures.

When the ranking was first published in July 2021, Vietnam ranked 100th.  It has made significant improvement to be ranked in the top 10 for four straight months since May.

Nikkei said Vietnam has achieved a dramatic turnaround. It had early success in managing the coronavirus one year into the pandemic, but was then hit hard by the delta variant in the middle of 2021, when it had barely begun vaccinations.

This promoted drastic measures, including strict lockdowns. Vietnam earned full marks for vaccinations in the latest index, and has removed COVID-19 restrictions and fully opened to foreign tourists.

This progress has translated into a brighter economic outlook. In its latest economic forecast, the World Bank raised Vietnam's 2022 growth prediction from 5.3% to 7.2%.

Since the beginning of the year Vietnam has maintained its macro economy, controlled inflation, and maintained major economic balances. In 9 months GDP growth had reached 8.83% and import-export turnover had reached 558.5 billion USD, with an export turnover of 282.5 billion USD, maintaining the trade surplus.

Key sectors have strongly recovered and grown. The tourism and service sectors are busy again and have grown 10.6% since the epidemic was controlled. Since the beginning of the year, more than 163,000 enterprises have been established or resumed operation.