Safety
While feeling safe is a luxury in many places, it’s one that New Zealanders are accustomed to. We’re not saying serious crime doesn’t exist here – it does – but the rates are lower in New Zealand than in many other countries. Compared to what goes on in many other parts of the world we’re an easy-going and happy country largely free of personal violence and strife between communities. We’re rated in international surveys as one of the world’s most peaceful, least corrupt countries.
- The 2017 Global Peace Index, which compares 162 countries for the risk of personal violence, rates New Zealand as the world’s second safest country just after Iceland.
- Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption Perception Index ranks us the least corrupt country in the world, equal with Denmark.
We don’t even have any seriously dangerous wildlife for you to worry about.
New Zealanders are by and large open-minded and believe people should be free to live the lifestyle they choose.
There are laws to prevent people abusing anyone’s freedom of expression and speech, and we have a reliable and trustworthy police force you can turn to which solves a comparatively high number of all crimes. Police don’t harass you here. They have strict rules they must follow and can’t act arbitrarily. As a rule they don’t carry personal firearms.