Korea Rises 4 Steps in Ranking of Best Countries to Live in During the COVID Era

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] South Korea ranked 8th among 53 major countries in the list of best countries to live in during the COVID-19 era, rising 4 places from a month ago.

According to Bloomberg's recently compiled "February COVID-19 Resilience Ranking" on the 1st, South Korea ranked 8th among 53 countries with an economic size of over $200 billion.

South Korea ranked 4th when this ranking was first compiled in November last year, but then dropped consecutively to 8th in December and 12th in January this year, before rising for the first time in three months this time.

The recent rise in ranking is largely attributed to the easing trend in confirmed cases and achievements in securing vaccines.

According to Bloomberg's data, South Korea's confirmed cases per 100,000 people decreased from 40 in January to 25 in February, and the vaccine procurement rate relative to the population increased from 90% to 135%.

Thanks to this, South Korea's evaluation score improved from 60.9 points in January to 65.3 points in February.

Bloomberg compiles 11 items every month, including confirmed cases per 100,000 people, COVID-19 fatality rate, deaths per 1 million people, vaccine procurement rate relative to the population (including contracts), number of vaccinated people per 100 people, lockdown intensity, and economic growth forecast, scoring out of 100 points.

This shows how well each country controls COVID-19 while minimizing social and economic disruption.

New Zealand ranked first in the compilation, maintaining its top position. It was followed by Australia, Singapore, Finland, Norway, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand in the top 10. The United States ranked 27th but rose 8 places compared to January.