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People shop in a supermarket in District 9, Ho Chi Minh City on March 26, 2020. Photo: VnExpress

Vietnamese are the most optimistic in Southeast Asia about their future amid the economic and social challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey has found.

Vietnam ranked highest in the optimism index compiled by Singapore's United Overseas Bank with a score of 62.4 out of 100, well ahead of Malaysia (53.8), Singapore (52.7), Thailand (52.0), and Indonesia (49.6).

More than 3,500 respondents in five countries were asked about concerns related to COVID-19 infection, continued restrictions on gatherings and travel, the economic impacts of the pandemic, and their personal and financial well-being and outlook.

Around 81 percent of Vietnamese respondents said they expect life to go back to normal by the end of this year, the highest rate in any country.

Asked about a possible economic recovery this year, 72 percent of Vietnamese believed they would be financially better off, again the highest rate.

"Their optimism could be due to Vietnam’s success in handling the Covid-19 crisis, which has set a strong foundation for the recovery of the economy," Harry Loh, CEO of UOB Vietnam, was cited by VnExpress as saying.

Vietnam ranked highest in the optimism index compiled by Singapore's United Overseas Bank with a score of 62.4 out of 100, well ahead of Malaysia (53.8), Singapore (52.7), Thailand (52.0), and Indonesia (49.6).

Vietnam was one of the few economies in the world to grow in 2020 by 2.9 percent. UOB Global Economics and Markets Research forecast 7.1 percent growth in 2021.

According to another survey by Dalia, a company specialising in research tech solutions, late last year, Vietnamese people have the most confidence of 45 countries in their Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

About 62 percent of Vietnamese surveyed in the single largest global public opinion study on COVID-19 think the Government is doing the ‘right amount’ in response to the situation.

Between March 24 and 26, survey respondents were asked “Think about your government’s reaction to COVID-19 right now. Do you believe measures taken are too much or too little?”

Answer options ranged from “Far too little” to “Far too much”. Respondents were also permitted to choose “I don’t know”.

The survey received answers from 32,631 people in 45 countries. Each country had at least 500 respondents.

Workers at one of Hoa Sen's plants. — Photo courtesy of Hoa Sen Group

According to Dalia, wo-fifths of the global population (40 percent) believe their government is doing the right amount to combat the pandemic. This is most notable in Vietnam and Argentina.

Meanwhile, the data in the survey shows almost half of the citizens surveyed want more government action, Vietnam News said.

When asked to assess their government’s reaction to COVID-19, more than a third of the countries surveyed were above average for thinking their government is doing ‘too little’. This was most drastically noticed in Thailand and Chile, Dalia reported.

In contrast, eight out of the 45 countries surveyed are above average for believing their governments to be overreacting to the situation and doing ‘too much’ in response to the situation, a belief most notably shared in Saudi Arabia.

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