New Zealand continues to quietly but proudly maintain its enviable position as one of the most ideal places to live as global tensions rise. With uncertainty looming like a dark cloud, New Zealand shines bright as one of the top countries for self-sufficiency. Whether its war, natural disasters or even political upheavals like America’s tariffs, a recent international scientific study from Nature Food has been released concerning self-sufficiency.

It measures and compares domestic food production across 186 countries and New Zealand is one of the most sustainable countries on the list – meaning we are far less reliant on global trade to keep ourselves going. But that isn’t the only metric New Zealand does well in.

The Economist Intelligence Unit, part of the Economist Group, creates a yearly Global Livability Index that measures living conditions around the world. It focuses on aspects such as stability, healthcare, culture, environment and education to assess which cities are the best places to live.

Auckland has been consistently scoring high for several years now. Auckland has been in the top 10 almost every year since 2013 and it even jumped to 1st place due to our swift Covid-19 response. This year, the 2025 index has placed us at 7th, making us tied with Osaka in Japan. Auckland has been rated very highly, especially for our education which received a full 100 point score.

It's no surprise since the University of Auckland (UoA) has always been rated highly in the QS World University Rankings. After comparing over 1500 universities around the world, the UoA was ranked 65th.  The UoA has been in the top 100 for many years in a row now, even after the QS ranking system changed and made it harder to keep such consistent results.

But that’s not all. The UoA was also ranked 28th out of 2,318 universities in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings – placing it in the top 1.2% worldwide. It scores highly in the Social Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations, achieving a consistent top 5% across 9 of the 17 SDGs. On top of that, the UoA was rated 76th in the 2025 Top 200 Global Leaders in Digital Talent Development. But, more impressively, all of the 8 universities in New Zealand rank in the top 2% in the world by QS World University Rankings.

Of course, its not just all about Auckland. New Zealand as a whole scores very well in these sorts of rankings. Here’s just a short sample of our recent achievements:

• 2nd most peaceful country – Global Peace Index 2025
• 4th least corrupt country – Corruption Perceptions Index 2024 (we ranked 1st for many years)
• 11th freest country in economic freedoms – Index of Economic Freedom 2025
• 4th most economically free country – Economic Freedom of the World Annual Report 2024

While people joke about New Zealand’s geographic isolation from the rest of the world, its this same distance that gives New Zealand its unique characteristics and strengths. The outbreak of Covid-19 was a prime example as it made quarantines and controlling the virus more simple for us.

While the rest of the world nervously trudges on, New Zealand is at ease because it knows its effectively safe from whatever happens. It’s this security that makes us so desirable as a place to live, not to mention other pull factors like our great natural beauty and standards of living. With the Active Investor Plus visa – the illustrious Golden Visa – in full swing, New Zealand is attracting a lot of attention from all over the world. If you’re also interested in living the good life in peace, you can contact Queen City Law for all of your immigration needs, or consult our website for more articles and information.

Disclaimer: This blog is general commentary only and is not legal advice. Always seek tailored legal advice before making investment or immigration decisions.

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To read our article 'Growth and Balanced Investor Immigration from 1st of April 2025' - click here.

To read our article 'Tsunami of investment funds into New Zealand – Golden Visa regime kicks off with a roar' – click here.