These 25 Countries Have the Highest COVID-19 Vaccination Rates

A lot has changed since the beginning of the year. After a puttering start to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, 5.86 billion doses have been administered worldwide. But that number hasn't been equally distributed across the globe. To see vaccination rates by country as of mid-September 2021, check out the list below.

Gizmodo reported this list of countries with the highest vaccination rates using data from Johns Hopkins University. With fewer people to cover, smaller countries have had an advantage in the race to herd immunity. Malta, which is home to just half a million residents, boasts the No.1 vaccination rate on Earth at 82.82 percent. It's followed by the United Arab Emirates, which has vaccinated 79.97 percent of its population of 9.7 million. Similarly small countries Singapore, Portugal, and Qatar round out the top five.

This trend doesn't mean that high vaccination rates are unobtainable in countries with more people. China has the most residents of any country at 1.4 billion, and it's already vaccinated 69.38 percent of them. The UK, Germany, Italy, and France all have populations exceeding 50 million, and their vaccination rates are among the best in the world.

Wealth is another factor that affects a nation's ranking. Many of the world's richest countries appear on the list, and in low-income countries, only 1.9 percent of people have received at least one dose of the vaccine. One wealthy nation that doesn't make the list of the top 25 highest vaccination rates is the U.S. In July, America held the 18th spot, but its vaccination numbers have since stalled at around 54 percent. The nation currently sits behind 39 other countries in the global ranking,

After reading the full list of the best vaccination rates by country, you can find more information about the COVID-19 vaccines here.

1. Malta // 82.82 percent
2. United Arab Emirates // 79.97 percent
3. Singapore // 79.10 percent
4. Portugal // 78.85 percent
5. Qatar // 78.33 percent
6. Spain // 74.5 percent
7. Denmark // 73.73 percent
8. Iceland // 73.63 percent
9. Chile // 73.36 percent
10. Uruguay // 73.3 percent
11. Seychelles // 72.63 percent
12. Belgium // 71.73 percent
13. Ireland // 71.02 percent
14. San Marino // 70.85 percent
15. China // 69.38 percent
16. Canada // 69.17 percent
17. Bahrain // 66.82 percent
18. United Kingdom // 65.68 percent
19. Mongolia // 65.51 percent
20. Norway // 64.15 percent
21. Italy // 63.83 percent
22. France // 62.94 percent
23. Netherlands // 62.68 percent
24. Bhutan // 62.63 percent
25. Germany // 62.02 percent

[h/t Gizmodo]