American scientists ranked Seychelles as the country with the cleanest air in the world in 2016 based on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI).

The island nation of Seychelles ranks number one in the world for air quality. Photo: Seychelles News Agency.

The EPI index assesses the effectiveness of countries' environmental protection activities and is ranked every two years by researchers at Yale University, USA.

According to the 2016 EPI statistics, the Seychelles, a 115-island archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, had an air quality score of 98.24, topping the list of 180 countries, followed by Trinidad and Tobago (97.2 points) and Maldives (97.1 points).

With a population of 93,000, since 2010, the country has focused on environmental protection activities to ensure that people live in clean, healthy and ecologically balanced conditions, according to Seychelles News Agency.

For many years, the Seychelles has been coal and oil-free for cooking. The government’s approach to economic development plays a key role in keeping the islands’ air clean, according to the environment minister.

"As soon as I stepped off the plane, my first impression was the fresh air of this beautiful country," a Chinese tourist shared.

According to this statistical table, Vietnam's air quality ranks 170/180 with an EPI index of 54.76 points and is in the top 11 countries with the worst air quality in the world.

According to VNE