Country comparison · 422 cities measured
United States vs Vietnam Air quality index (AQI) and deforestation
United States has cleaner air than Vietnam right now: its cities average AQI 38 against 53.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are United States 40 (281 cities) and Vietnam 77 (20 cities). United States has lost more forest since 2001. Vietnam has more tree cover in its cities.
Average of 308 cities
AQI 38
Good
Cleaner on average
- At ground stations
- AQI 40
- Tree cover
- 25.1%
- Forest lost since 2001
- 126 million acres (51 million ha)
Average of 114 cities
AQI 53
Moderate
Cleaner on average
- At ground stations
- AQI 77
- 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.
United States38Vietnam53
Head to head
United States vs Vietnam at a glance
United States is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Vietnam on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| United States | Vietnam | |
|---|---|---|
| Average air qualityUS AQI, all measured cities. | 38 (better) | 53 |
| At ground stationsCities with a current station reading. | 40 (better) | 77 |
| Cities over AQI 100Not fine for sensitive groups. | 0% (better) | 9% |
| Forest lost since 2001The whole country. | 126 million acres (51 million ha) | 3.85 million ha (better) |
| Share of its forest lostOf what it had in 2000. | 18% (better) | 23% |
| Average tree coverAcross its measured cities. | 25.1% | 35.8% (better) |
Air quality today
Is United States cleaner than Vietnam?
On air quality, yes, right now. United States has cleaner air than Vietnam right now: its cities average AQI 38 against 53.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are United States 40 (281 cities) and Vietnam 77 (20 cities).
0% of the measured cities in the United States are over AQI 100 today, the point where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, against 9% in Vietnam.
How each country's cities split across the air quality bands
United States
- Good200 (65%)
- Moderate107 (35%)
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups1 (0%)
Vietnam
- Good43 (38%)
- Moderate61 (54%)
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups7 (6%)
- Unhealthy3 (3%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
Against everywhere else
How do United States and Vietnam compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of the United States average cleaner air than 73% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and those of Vietnam than 48%.
Cleaner air than…
- United States
- Beats 73%
- Vietnam
- Beats 48%
More tree cover than…
- United States
- Beats 52%
- Vietnam
- Beats 79%
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which country has lost more forest, United States or Vietnam?
United States has lost more: about 126 million acres (51 million ha) of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 3.85 million ha in Vietnam, or 13 times as much. 9.87 million acres (4 million ha) of United States'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.
Worst year: 2004, with 6.77 million acres (2.74 million ha) lost.
Worst year: 2016, with 357,000 ha lost.
| United States | Vietnam | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 126 million acres (51 million ha) | 3.85 million ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 18% (better) | 23% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 9.87 million acres (4 million ha) | 1.41 million ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Holding steady | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Logging (62%) | Logging (47%) |
Trees
Which country has more tree cover, United States or Vietnam?
Vietnam does: its measured cities average 35.8% tree cover against 25.1%, a gap of 10.6 percentage points.
| United States | Vietnam | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingSummed across measured cities. | 23.3M (better) | 12.0M |
| Cities below their targetShort of the canopy target. | 64% | 44% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach those targets. | 8.2M | 1.4M (better) |
Behind the averages
The cities behind United States and Vietnam
An average says nothing about how far apart the best and worst places are. These are the measured cities at each end.
United States
- Greenest measured city
- South Fulton71.7% tree cover
- Worst air right now
- StocktonAQI 105
Vietnam
- Greenest measured city
- Thị Trấn Thuận Châu82.6% tree cover
- Worst air right now
- Phúc YênAQI 152
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: 308 in the United States 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. United States rests on 308 cities against 114, so its average is the steadier of the two. Forest figures come from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
Frequently asked
United States vs Vietnam: your questions answered
Is United States cleaner than Vietnam?
On air quality, yes, right now: United States's cities average AQI 38 against 53 on the US EPA index. These are live readings averaged across cities, so the gap moves with the weather. At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are United States 40 (281 cities) and Vietnam 77 (20 cities).
Which country has lost more forest, United States or Vietnam?
United States has lost more: about 126 million acres (51 million ha) of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 3.85 million ha in Vietnam, or 13 times as much. 9.87 million acres (4 million ha) of United States'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, United States or Vietnam?
Vietnam does: its measured cities average 35.8% tree cover against 25.1%, a gap of 10.6 percentage points.
How many cities are the United States and Vietnam figures based on?
308 measured cities in the United States 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.
Why are there two air quality averages for each country?
The first covers every measured city, using a ground station where one is close and a model estimate everywhere else. The second counts only cities with a current station reading, which is measured rather than estimated but covers fewer places. Airleaf's world rankings use the station figures only.
Does this cover the whole of the United States 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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