Resilient NZ near top of table

New Zealand ranks well on stability of infrastructure and government. Photo / Richard Robinson

Index ranks country one of the least corrupt and most politically stable

New Zealand has been ranked towards the top of a list of 130 countries as one of the least corrupt and most politically stable countries.

Tom Lawson, president of American-based international insurer FM Global, said this country featured strongly in the annual resilience index which analysed countries according to economic risk quality - natural hazard exposure and quality of fire risk management - and supply chain factors such as the quality of a country's infrastructure, its corruption control and local supplier quality.

In one category, New Zealand was second only to Denmark but overall it ranked fifth, assessed as one of the least potentially vulnerable countries on nine factors which took into account the country's ability to cope with and recover from natural disasters.

The top five countries on the index, out of 130, were Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The most risky countries were Bolivia, Mauritania, the Kyrgyz Republic, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.

The least politically risky countries were Switzerland, Finland, New Zealand, Singapore and Luxembourg. For control of corruption, the best countries in ranking order were Denmark, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

"For quality of management of natural hazard risk, New Zealand ranks 63 out of 130 countries and for quality of fire risk management, New Zealand ranks ninth," Lawson said.

Even after the Canterbury earthquakes, New Zealand still ranked relatively well for exposure to natural hazards at 48th out of the 130 countries. Ireland has the highest ranking on this measure and Australia is well ahead of New Zealand.

For a country's independence from or reliance on oil, New Zealand ranked 26 out of the 130 countries. For infrastructure, it ranked 48th and for local supplier quality it ranked ninth.

"New Zealand ranks particularly well in terms of stability of infrastructure and stability of government. It's a good place to have a supplier or a customer because it's very reliable," Lawson said of our ranking on the index, which was developed by Oxford Metrica.

Lawson has been appointed FM's chairman and chief executive, a position he takes up on January 1.

Countries with strong economies, high-quality infrastructure and a high level of risk quality score well, which is why Norway, Switzerland and Canada appeared at the top of the index.

Norway is at the top because of its North Sea energy supply, making it highly resistant to any threat posed by a sudden oil price rise. Ireland is 27th on supply chain drivers but in the top five overall thanks to its strong commitment to risk management and low exposure to natural hazards. The Philippines is 14th from the bottom because it has a huge exposure to natural hazards like typhoons.

FM Global Resilience Index

Top 5 countries overall ranking (9 factors assessed)
1. Norway
2. Switzerland
3. Canada
4. Australia
5. New Zealand

Bottom 5 countries overall ranking
126 Bolivia
127 Mauritania
128 The Kyrgyz Republic
129 Venezuela
130 Dominican Republic

- Source: FM Global Resilience Index