Regional Statistics, Vol. 13. No. 3. 2023: 412–433; DOI: 10.15196/RS130302 The impact of polarisation on Covid-19 outcomes, 2020 Nguyen Van Thanh Central Theoretical Council of Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam Dung Thi Thuy Nguyen Academy of Finance, Institute of Economics and Strategic Management, Hanoi, Vietnam Phuong-Tra Vu Institute of Economics and Strategic Management, Hanoi, Vietnam Hiep Ngoc Luu (corresponding author) VNU University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University, Institute of Economics and Strategic Management, Hanoi, Vietnam E-mail: hiepln@vnu.edu.vn Hoa Hanh Hoang Institute of Economics and Strategic Management, Hanoi, Vietnam Keywords: polarisation, Covid-19 pandemic, income inequality, democracy, government quality This study examines the impact of polarisation on Covid-19’s outcomes. Using a sample of 130 countries in 2020, the authors find that polarisation worsens the pandemic situation, as evidenced by the higher number of Covid-19-related confirmed cases and deaths. These results are consistent across several robustness tests. The authors further find that the adverse impact of polarisation is mainly evident among countries with high income inequality and a democratic regime. In addition, the study document the role of government quality in mitigating the adverse impact of polarisation on Covid-19 outcomes. Overall, these results have important implications for policymakers responsible for containing the pandemic.