The State Bank of Vietnam topped the Public Administration Reform Index for the fourth time in row, ahead of 17 other state agencies, which are the Government Inspectorate and 16 ministries, the government recently announced.

The bank scored 91 percent out of 100, followed by the Ministry of Finance with 90 percent, the Ministry of Justice with 87 percent, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with 85 percent.

The Ministry of Transport scored lowest at 75 percent, with the Ministry of Health, 78, the Ministry of Information and Communications, 79, and the Ministry of Construction, 80, also in the bottom cluster.

The ranking was assessed via feedback from 17,300 civil servants and 33,000 citizens on seven criteria: management of administrative reform, administration procedure reform, staff quality improvement, reform of the administrative apparatus, administrative system modernization with application of advanced technologies, public finance reform, and building and organizing administrative institutions.

The average index of 2018 improved 6 percent against 2017 to 83 percent but the government said major criteria including improving staff quality, modernizing the administrative system and reforming the administrative apparatus have not seen improvement.

Among cities and provinces, Quang Ninh beats 62 others with 81 percent, followed by Hanoi, the capital city, with 83.9 percent and the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap with 83.71.

Da Nang, the third major city in the nation after Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, was fourth with 83.7, followed by the norther port city of Hai Phong with 83.6 percent.

HCMC, the country's largest city and its key economic driver, claimed the 10th position with 79.6 percent

Phu Yen Province in the central region came last, with Kon Tum Province in the Central Highlands and Tra Vinh Province in the Mekong Delta also in the lower group.

In 2012, Quang Ninh established a board to focus on promoting investment and supporting investors and last year, it was the first in the nation to merge district-level tax offices into several regional tax departments operating under the provincial tax department to save time for both businesses and locals.

It also reviewed all administrative procedures to ensure that businesses and locals could handle their affairs at just one administrative center in each district.