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50 Countries With the Best Covid-19 Vaccination Rates in the World

The U.S. is currently ranked 40th, slipping from 18th back in late July.

Singapore Airlines flight crew members walk along the transit hall of the Changi International Airport in Singapore on September 3, 2021.
Singapore Airlines flight crew members walk along the transit hall of the Changi International Airport in Singapore on September 3, 2021.
Photo: Roslan Rahman/AFP (Getty Images)

Countries around the world are racing to get their populations vaccinated, with 30% of the globe now protected against serious disease and death from covid-19. But some countries are doing better than others since Gizmodo last checked back in July.

Sadly, the U.S. has slipped from 18th place to 40th, with many wealthy countries getting vaccines in arms much faster than America over the past few months. The U.S. covid-19 vaccination rate currently sits at a stubbornly low 54.44%.

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The list below shows the percentage of each country’s population that’s been vaccinated, based on data from Johns Hopkins University. We’ve also included each country’s population numbers for perspective, though the best vaccination rates in the world aren’t necessarily dominated by small countries anymore. China, for example, has vaccinated over 69% of its population of 1.4 billion people, well above the U.S., which has a population of just 328 million people.

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But smaller countries also saw significant gains, including Singapore, population 5.7 million, which did an exceptional job over the past couple of months, going from 21st in the world to third best vaccination rate on the planet. Singapore now has over 79% of its population now vaccinated and it’s opening up its economy in significant ways.

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  1. Malta - 82.82%, population: 502,000
  2. United Arab Emirates - 79.97%, population: 9.7 million
  3. Singapore - 79.10%, population: 5.7 million
  4. Portugal - 78.85%, population: 10.2 million
  5. Qatar - 78.33%, population: 2.8 million
  6. Spain - 74.50%, population: 46.9 million
  7. Denmark - 73.73%, population: 5.8 million
  8. Iceland - 73.63%, population: 357,000
  9. Chile - 73.36%, population: 18.9 million
  10. Uruguay - 73.30%, population: 3.4 million
  11. Seychelles - 72.63%, population: 97,000
  12. Belgium - 71.73%, population: 11.4 million
  13. Ireland - 71.02%, population: 4.9 million
  14. San Marino - 70.85%, population: 34,000
  15. China - 69.38%, population: 1.4 billion
  16. Canada - 69.17%, population: 37.5 million
  17. Bahrain - 66.82%, population: 1.6 million
  18. United Kingdom - 65.68%, population: 66.6 million
  19. Mongolia - 65.51%, population: 3.2 million
  20. Norway - 64.15%, population: 5.3 million
  21. Italy - 63.83%, population: 60.3 million
  22. France - 62.94%, population: 67 million
  23. Netherlands - 62.68%, population: 17.2 million
  24. Bhutan - 62.63%, population 763,000
  25. Germany - 62.02%, population: 83 million
  26. Israel - 61.18%, population: 9 million
  27. Mauritius - 60.31%, population: 1.2 million
  28. Austria - 59.68%, population: 8.8 million
  29. Sweden - 59.62%, population: 10.2 million
  30. Maldives - 59.33%, population: 531,000
  31. Monaco - 58.54%, population: 39,000
  32. Luxembourg - 58.08%, population: 614,000
  33. Cambodia - 57.28%, population: 16.5 million
  34. Hungary - 56.72%, population: 9.7 million
  35. Finland - 56.34%, population: 5.5 million
  36. Lithuania - 56.26%, population: 2.8 million
  37. Ecuador - 55.10%, population: 17.4 million
  38. Czechia - 54.74%, population: 10.6 million
  39. Greece - 54.54%, population: 10.6 million
  40. United States - 54.44%, population: 328 million
  41. Liechtenstein - 54.28%, population 38,000
  42. Andorra - 54.23%, population: 77,000
  43. Malaysia - 53.29%, population: 31.9 million
  44. Switzerland - 52.76%, population: 8.5 million
  45. Poland - 50.29%, population: 37.9 million
  46. Japan - 49.96%, population: 126.3 million
  47. Saudi Arabia - 48.51%, population: 34.2 million
  48. Turkey - 48.13%, population: 82 million
  49. Sri Lanka - 47.73%, population: 21.8 million
  50. El Salvador - 47.64%, population: 6.4 million

As the New York Times points out in an article over the weekend, the U.S. now ranks among the lowest vaccination rates for wealthy countries. Some wealthy countries like Australia are still struggling, with just 33.79% of its population vaccinated, but that’s way up from 12.18% back in late July. Japan is another rich country that has struggled with its vaccine rollout, currently ranking below the U.S. at only 49.96% fully vaccinated.

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America’s relatively low vaccination rate is having devastating effects for everybody, with a surge in new cases and hospitalizations the country hasn’t seen since 2020. The U.S. is averaging over 145,000 new cases each day and 1,648 new deaths.

The pandemic isn’t going to end until every country achieves vaccination rates like the countries at the top of this list. But right now, that’s looking increasingly difficult in countries like the U.S., where covid-19 vaccination has become weaponized as a political issue by the likes of Fox News and far-right wing politicians.

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According to the most recent polling among registered voters by Civiqs, 91% of Democrats have been vaccinated for covid-19 with another 4% of Democrats who say they plan to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, just 53% of Republicans have been vaccinated, with an additional 2% saying they plant to get vaccinated. According to the same poll, 38% of Republicans say they have no plans to get vaccinated against covid-19.

Get vaccinated today if you haven’t already, no matter where you are in the world. It’s the least you can do to help get us out of this pandemic. The covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective, despite whatever craven nonsense is being spouted today on Fox News. You don’t even need to get vaccinated for anyone else. Get vaccinated for yourself and dramatically decrease your chance of serious disease and death from covid-19. It’ll be the best selfish decision you make all year.

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Correction: The population of the United Kingdom was originally listed as 56.6 million. It’s actually 66.6 million. Gizmodo regrets the error.