Map: Where New Zealand ranks in world's most dangerous nations

The world's safest and riskiest nations have been mapped in terms of their security - and some of the results might surprise you. 

New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the US feature among the world's least dangerous countries in the map, created by Singapore-based International SOS and London-based consulting firm Control Risks. 

The 2019 Travel Risk Map shows the danger level in each country and territory based on the current threat posed to travellers by political violence, unrest and crime. This could include terrorism, politically motivated war, ethnic violence and petty crime. 

Factors including quality of transport infrastructure were taken into consideration when creating the map. Other areas looked at were the effectiveness of security and emergency services, the state of industrial relations, and also how prone countries are to natural disasters. 

While Western nations often rank as low-risk, the map shows New Zealand's security is on par with nations less commonly perceived as being safe - including Iran, Ghana, China and Uzbekistan. 

Other countries at New Zealand's 'low' risk level include Cuba, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Namibia, Zambia, Gabon, Oman, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Laos, the UAE, Qatar, Morocco, and most European nations. 

The only countries with risk considered 'insignificant' on the map are all in northern Europe. They include Luxembourg, Denmark, Slovenia, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Greenland. 

The world's safest and riskiest nations have been mapped in terms of their security.
The world's safest and riskiest nations have been mapped in terms of their security. Photo credit: International SOS

Meanwhile, the Middle East featured the most countries with risk considered 'extreme'. These nations include Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Libya, South Sudan and Somalia. 

In another map created by International SOS, countries have been ranked in terms of road safety. In this map, New Zealand is considered to have "very low" risk, alongside Australia, Japan, Canada and most European countries. 

The majority of African countries are considered to have "very high" road safety risk, as well as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, Thailand and Kazakhstan. 

New Zealand ranks well in another map created to show medical risk around the world. New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Canada, the US, Turkey, Chile, Japan, South Korea, the UAE and most European Countries have low medical risk, the map shows. 

The countries with the highest medical risk, according to the map, include Somalia, Yemen, Niger, Libya, Afghanistan, Venezuela, South Sudan and North Korea. 

Factors taken into consideration for the medical risk map were threats of infectious disease, the availability of local emergency medical and dental care, as well as access to pharmaceutical supplies.  

New Zealand has long ranked well in terms of safety. In 2016, it was considered the seventh safest country to travel to in the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Report.  

But an annual Gallup Global Law and Order poll earlier this year found that New Zealanders rank the safety of their own country lower than Egyptians, Indonesians and Chinese. Australia was placed even lower on the list, behind Bangladesh and Rwanda.  

Last year, New Zealand was ranked one of the most generous countries in the world ahead of the US and the UK, in the World Kindness Survey, conducted as part of Charities Aid Foundation's 2017 World Giving Index.

Newshub.