HANOI – Vietnam has climbed up three spots to rank 47th out of 105 countries in Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index Report 2021.
Vietnam was the only country among the 10-member Asean to see improvement this year, reports the Vietnam News Agency.
Its overall score was 33.8 out of 100 points, 2.5 points higher than last year, putting it ahead of the Philippines (53rd), Cambodia (89th) and Myanmar (90th).
Asean countries Singapore was at 20th, Thailand (33rd), Malaysia (39th) and Indonesia (45th).
According Brand Finance, the improvement is largely due to the fact that Vietnam has managed the Covid-19 pandemic well.
“Vietnam was spared a year of lockdowns and besieged hospitals, and has one of the lowest Covid-19 infection and death rates in the world,” the report said.
“Not only is the response to the pandemic impressive – given its shared border with China – but Vietnam also experienced one of the highest economic growth rates globally in 2020, one of a handful of countries with positive growth last year.”
The Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index is a study on the perception of 100 nation brands from around the world. It surveys the general public as well as specialist audiences, with responses gathered from over 75,000 people across more than 100 countries.
The countries were graded on awareness and familiarity, influence, global reputation, and performance in key sectors like trade and business, governance, culture and heritage, media and communication, education and science, and people and values. – Bernama, March 1, 2021