Global Covid Recovery Index: Bangladesh Ranks 5th in the World

Bangladesh has ranked 5th out of 121 countries in the Nikkei Covid-19 Recovery Index.

Bangladesh ranked the highest among South Asian countries with a score of 80 points, followed by Nepal which ranked 6th with a score of 79, according to the latest rankings published on Thursday.

In March, Bangladesh was in the 13th position.

Meanwhile, Pakistan ranked 23rd in the region while Sri Lanka, currently mired in economic crisis, ranked 31.

Both India and Haiti scored 62.5, ranking 70th in the index, while Qatar and UAE snagged the top spot with 87 points.

Taiwan's ranking has plunged in the latest edition of Nikkei's Covid-19 Recovery Index as the island transitions from a strict zero-virus strategy to living with respiratory illness, even as infections surge.

The country tumbled out of the fourth spot to no 94 in the latest ranking, tied with China, which fell 62 places from last month as the country battles its worst outbreak since the virus was first detected in the city of Wuhan more than two years ago.

Bangladesh has been seeing a downward trend in the Covid-19 infections for the last couple of months now. In the last 16 days till Friday, the country recorded zero deaths from the virus.

According to health authorities, about 75.46% of the population has received at least a single shot of the vaccine, while 68.19% are completely vaccinated.

The index, updated at the end of each month, assesses countries and regions on infection management, vaccine rollouts, and social mobility.

The higher the ranking, the closer a place is to recovery, characterized by lower infection and death rates, better inoculation coverage, as well as fewer movement restrictions.

The index is maintained by Nikkei, Japan’s leading business publication group that includes the Nikkei, Nikkei Asia, and the Financial Times (of London).