The annual study uses satellite data to measure air pollution concentrations and has been produced by researchers at Yale and Columbia universities.
Of 132 countries whose environments were surveyed in relation to effects on human health, Viet Nam places 123rd in the air category, 80th in the water category and 79th in addressing pollution control and natural resource management challenges.
Professor Pham Ngoc Dang, chairman of the Viet Nam Environment Construction Association said air in most urban areas was filled with dust, especially in traffic junctions, construction sites and industrial parks.
According to experts, air pollution will seriously affect people's health, causing diseases related to the respiratory system, eyes, ears and skin.
The United States places 49th in the 2012 EPI, significantly behind other industrialised nations, including France (6th), the United Kingdom (9th), Germany (11th), and Japan (23rd).
Switzerland leads the world in addressing pollution control.
(VietNamNet/Viet Nam News )