HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam has made the biggest jump this year to claim 11^th place in the world’s friendliest country list, according to The InterNations Survey which interviewed more than 14,000 expats living in 67 countries around the world.

The country’s most significant gain compared to last year was in the Working Abroad Index (jumping from 36^th to 12^th place) and Ease of Settling In Index (from 35^th to 29^th place). In 2015, Việt Nam ranked 35 out of a total of 65 countries surveyed.

Expats in the country seem to have better handle on maintaining a work-life balance as well as almost one in five (19 per cent) expats asked said they were completely satisfied. They were also more positive about their career, with 75 per cent saying they were happy with their jobs, an increase of 61 per cent from last year.

“The Vietnamese are kind, caring and very considerate, with a good sense of humour. Life is good here, one of the nicest places I have ever lived”, said an interviewee who partook in the survey.

Perception of local residents has also improved, as 84 per cent of respondents said locals were in general friendly, a step up from last year’s number of 74 per cent. In particular, two in five respondents regarded locals’ attitude toward foreigners as very good and three in five said it was easy to befriend locals.

The country, however, was not doing so well in other categories such as Quality of Environment, claming 8^th place in the bottom ten, as it has been struggling to deal with numerous environmental issues in recent years, especially in big cities where residents face increasingly alarming air, water and noise pollution.

Travel and Transport was also among the country’s shortcomings, reflected in its 46^th place in this category. Traffic has often been described as “chaotic” with an underdeveloped public transportation sector and the death toll on the roads remaining in the thousands every year. — VNS