🇳🇿 New Zealand (Aotearoa)
Visiting: SafeWomen visiting: Reasonable
Visiting New Zealand is safe. Two measures stand out: there is no conflict at all and freedom is as good as it gets, both ranking 1st. Its weakest measure is still inside the top third: women's safety is good, ranking 54th. LGBT rights are among the very strongest, ranking 10th, and road deaths are low, at 40th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
New Zealand: 1.5
Ranked 53rd in the world for the lowest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
One and a half killings per 100,000 people a year is low. The safest countries sit under one, and New Zealand is a shade above.
Is it safe to visit?
Fine for a visitor. New Zealand's last count, from 2022, sits well below the world average.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
New Zealand: 6.6
Ranked 40th in the world for the safest roads.
Why this rank?
Under seven deaths per 100,000 people a year is low but close to seven and a half, which is half the world average.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe by world standards. Well below the world average.
Conflict — world number one
Conflict deaths inside the country in the last twelve months, as recorded by the Uppsala conflict database, civilians killed on purpose, and any UN sanctions or court order over a war. The worst of those sets the colour. Lower is better.
New Zealand: 1.00
Ranked 1st least conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
Nothing on record. The Uppsala conflict database has never recorded a conflict death in New Zealand since its records began in 1989.
Is it safe to visit?
Nothing to think about. Nothing has ever come within a thousand miles.
Freedom — world number one
Six freedoms rated 0–4 by Freedom House — protest, speech, press, religion, movement and due process. The weakest rating sets the colour, and the total places the country inside it — higher is better.
New Zealand: 10.00
Ranked 1st freest country in the world.
Why this rank?
In New Zealand every one of the six freedoms scores the full 4. Total 24 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
All six freedoms fully respected, with a long record of free and fair elections. Nothing here touches a visitor.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
New Zealand: 7.8
Ranked 10th most equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Marriage since 2013, self-ID since 2023, conversion therapy banned in 2022. The law index scores 91, public opinion 65.
Is it safe to visit?
Fine. Acceptance is broad, with visible LGBT life well beyond the big cities.
Women's Safety
Women's safety — feeling safe out at night, political violence against women, a fair hearing in court, and how normal violence at home is, with the night figure setting a floor on the colour — higher is better.
New Zealand: 7.96
Ranked 54th safest country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
The courts rate high and violence at home is rare. Fewer than half of women feel safe walking alone at night, short of the more than half that green needs.
Is it safe to visit?
New Zealand is reasonable for a woman travelling alone.