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Airleaf

Country comparison · 145 cities measured

Chile vs Vietnam Air quality index (AQI) and deforestation

Chile has cleaner air than Vietnam right now: its cities average AQI 52 against 61.

Vietnam has lost more forest since 2001. Vietnam has more tree cover in its cities.

Chile

Average of 31 cities

AQI 52

Moderate

Cleaner on average

Tree cover
13.0%
Forest lost since 2001
2.43 million ha
Vietnam

Average of 114 cities

AQI 61

Moderate

At ground stations
AQI 90
Tree cover
35.8%
Forest lost since 2001
3.85 million ha

Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.

Head to head

Chile vs Vietnam at a glance

Chile is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Vietnam on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.

Chile and Vietnam compared on air quality, forest loss and tree cover
ChileVietnam
Average air qualityUS AQI, all measured cities.52 (better)61
Cities over AQI 100Not fine for sensitive groups.0% (better)11%
Forest lost since 2001The whole country.2.43 million ha (better)3.85 million ha
Share of its forest lostOf what it had in 2000.14% (better)23%
Average tree coverAcross its measured cities.13.0%35.8% (better)

Air quality today

Is Chile cleaner than Vietnam?

On air quality, yes, right now. Chile has cleaner air than Vietnam right now: its cities average AQI 52 against 61.

0% of the measured cities in Chile are over AQI 100 today, the point where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, against 11% in Vietnam.

How each country's cities split across the air quality bands

Chile

  • Good13 (42%)
  • Moderate18 (58%)

Vietnam

  • Good36 (32%)
  • Moderate66 (58%)
  • Unhealthy for sensitive groups6 (5%)
  • Unhealthy6 (5%)

Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.

Against everywhere else

How do Chile and Vietnam compare with other countries?

Right now the cities of Chile average cleaner air than 49% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and those of Vietnam than 32%.

Cleaner air than…

Chile
Beats 49%
Vietnam
Beats 32%

More tree cover than…

Chile
Beats 25%
Vietnam
Beats 79%

Deforestation · 2001–2025

Which country has lost more forest, Chile or Vietnam?

Vietnam has lost more: about 3.85 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 2.43 million ha in Chile, or 1.6 times as much. 1.41 million ha of Vietnam's was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns; the rest burned, was logged or can grow back.

The whole country, from the yearly satellite maps of forest loss: unlike the city averages above, this counts every forest, not just the land around cities.

Chile
20012025

Worst year: 2017, with 214,000 ha lost.

Vietnam
20012025

Worst year: 2016, with 357,000 ha lost.

Forest loss in Chile and Vietnam, 2001 to 2025
ChileVietnam
Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged.2.43 million ha (better)3.85 million ha
Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000.14% (better)23%
Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns.96,100 ha (better)1.41 million ha
Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before.Slowing downSlowing down
Main known causeLogging (82%)Logging (47%)

Trees

Which country has more tree cover, Chile or Vietnam?

Vietnam does: its measured cities average 35.8% tree cover against 13.0%, a gap of 22.8 percentage points.

Chile13.0%
Vietnam35.8%
Tree figures for Chile and Vietnam
ChileVietnam
Trees standingSummed across measured cities.1.2M12.0M (better)
Cities below their targetShort of the canopy target.94%46% (better)
Trees still neededTo reach those targets.1.5M1.5M (better)

Behind the averages

The cities behind Chile and Vietnam

An average says nothing about how far apart the best and worst places are. These are the measured cities at each end.

Chile

Greenest measured city
Coronel36.2% tree cover
Worst air right now
CalamaAQI 72

Vietnam

Greenest measured city
Thị Trấn Thuận Châu82.6% tree cover
Worst air right now
HanoiAQI 162

Reading these numbers

What a country average is, and is not

It is a mean of cities

Not a national statistic. Each figure is the average across the cities Airleaf has measured: 31 in Chile and 114 in Vietnam, each read over the same 2 km radius, on the US EPA index. Rural land and unmeasured towns are not in it.

Coverage shapes the number

A country measured mostly in its capital reads differently from one measured across dozens of towns. Vietnam rests on 114 cities against 31, so its average is the steadier of the two. Forest figures come from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.

Frequently asked

Chile vs Vietnam: your questions answered

Is Chile cleaner than Vietnam?

On air quality, yes, right now: Chile's cities average AQI 52 against 61 on the US EPA index. These are live readings averaged across cities, so the gap moves with the weather.

Which country has lost more forest, Chile or Vietnam?

Vietnam has lost more: about 3.85 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 2.43 million ha in Chile, or 1.6 times as much. 1.41 million ha of Vietnam's was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns; the rest burned, was logged or can grow back.

Which country has more tree cover, Chile or Vietnam?

Vietnam does: its measured cities average 35.8% tree cover against 13.0%, a gap of 22.8 percentage points.

How many cities are the Chile and Vietnam figures based on?

31 measured cities in Chile and 114 in Vietnam. Every one was read the same way, so the two averages are directly comparable, but a country with more measured cities has the more settled figure.

Does this cover the whole of Chile and Vietnam?

The air and tree figures are not: they are the cities Airleaf has measured, each over the same 2 km radius, so treat them as a comparison of urban air and urban tree cover. The forest figures are: they count every forest in the country.

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