Hanoi (VNA) - With an index score of 77, Vietnam is ranked second globally and firstamong Southeast Asian countries in terms of its people’ssatisfaction with the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to anewly released study of over 23 countries and territories by Singapore-basedsocial research agency Blackbox Research and Toluna Company. 

Up to 94 percent ofVietnamese people feltthat keeping the public informed on the pandemic with accurate information had worked in their favour inmanaging the disease,contributing to the country’s excellent performance in the fight against COVID-19,according to the study. 

David Black, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Blackbox Research, said Vietnam’simpressive score reflects the country’s swift and strict measures to clamp downon the spread of the virus, as well as its regular and transparentcommunication with the public on ongoing case investigations.

“Vietnam’s effectiveness in curbing the spread of the virus so far hasled to a heightened level of trust and confidence of citizens in their leaders,especially when we compare the country with some of its Southeast Asianneighbours who have at times struggled with testing, contact tracing anddealing with new clusters of cases,” said Black. 

Scoring 85, Chinatops the index with the most citizens rating its performance favourably.

New Zealand is the only Western country with an index score exceeding theglobal average – implying that citizens in Western countries are generally lesssatisfied with their countries’ performances. 

Meanwhile, Japan ranks last with an index score of 16, due to its perceivedpoor political performance and business leadership, as well as lacklustrecommunity performance, Blackbox said./.