Survey data on government risk communication and citizen compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam.

In response to the global call for data to understand the COVID-19 and thus contain its outbreak, our datasets provide COVID-19-related information in Vietnam, a limited-resource country with some achievements in the fight against this infectious disease. The survey collected various information from the respondents, including their socioeconomic characteristics, their responses on the government risk communication, their understandings of COVID-19, their risk perception of COVID-19, and their compliance with safety measures. The survey was conducted on 467 respondents living in Vietnam in the course of COVID-19 pandemic. Data was collected through an online survey conducted from March 31 to April 3, 2020 when Vietnam started the strict nationwide social distancing rules. Our dataset could serve as a reference source for similar surveys in other countries to understand the government risk communication, the public's understandings, their risk perception, and their compliance during the on-going COVID-19 and similar crises.