The study, produced by the non-profit Deep Knowledge Group, a consortium of companies and non-profit organisations. 

Switzerland sits in first place with a score of 752, while Germany is in second place with 749 points. 

Four tiers of coronavirus safety

The study ranked 200 countries into four tiers of coronavirus safety. There were 20 countries in the first tier, coming from Asia, Europe, Oceania, the Middle East and North America. 

The United States and the United Kingdom ranked in the third tier along with hard-hit European nations like Spain and Italy. 

South Sudan is officially the most dangerous country in the world for coronavirus infections. 

Photo: Deep Knowledge Group

Economic factors are growing in importance

While the measures a country put in place to stop the spread of the virus – as well as the underlying quality of the nation’s medical system – were important in determining the rankings, so too was the resilience of the country’s economy. 

“Switzerland and Germany achieve the #1 and #2 positions in this new special case study specifically because of their economy’s resilience, and due to the careful ways in which they are attempting to relax lockdown and economic freezing mandates in a fact and science-based manner, without sacrificing public health and safety,” said the authors. 

The study hoped to present an average of each country, while acknowledging that some regions have been much more heavily affected than others. 

In Switzerland, while the German-speaking part of the country has largely escaped the worst of the virus, the French-speaking and particularly the Italian-speaking parts of the country have been significantly impacted. 

Coronavirus in Switzerland: Why have the French and Italian-speaking regions been so hard hit? 

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