World's Cleanest Countries Ranking: Where Does Indonesia Stand?

Yale University and Columbia University, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, recently released research findings on the world's cleanest countries in 2020. The results show Denmark as the number one country globally in terms of cleanliness and environmental friendliness, out of 180 countries researched.

Denmark was crowned the world's cleanest country with an Environmental Performance Index (EPI) score of 82.5 points. Luxembourg ranked second with an EPI score of 82.3 points, followed by Switzerland (81.5 points), the United Kingdom (81.3 points), and France (80 points). For context, Indonesia ranked 116th with a score of 37.8 points.

Denmark's top ranking is attributed to the government and its citizens' efforts in implementing sustainability principles, maintaining cleanliness and water usage, and combating climate change.

Danish society has integrated environmental awareness into its lifestyle. For example, 50% of Danes commute to work daily by bicycle, aiming to reduce CO2 emissions and air pollution.

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) uses 24 performance indicators across ten categories encompassing environmental health and ecosystem vitality. These categories include air and water quality, sanitation, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability.