The Crazy Man Who Climbed Through the Window

Is New Zealand safer than the United States? And are the people here more polite? Maybe and yes.

On the 2015 Global Peace Index, which measures such things as low crime rates, minimal incidences of terrorist acts and violent demonstrations, harmonious relations with neighboring countries, a stable political scene and a small proportion of the population being internally displaced or refugees, New Zealand ranked fourth in the world, losing out only to Iceland, Denmark, and Austria. Yes, New Zealand is a peaceful place; it’s pretty safe and stable here. The United States, by comparison, was ranked 94 on the same index.

Similarly, in 2014 on the Corruption Perception Index, which measures the perception of how much—or in this case, how little—public corruption there is in a country, New Zealand ranked second in the world (losing to Denmark again). The government is not very corrupt here. The United States ranked 16th.