Australia has ranked No.1 for education for the first time in FM Global’s annual resilience index, which scores 130 countries and regions across 18 measures.

New Zealand places second in the category, which is based on average expected years of schooling.

Overall, Australia has moved up two places this year to be the 13th most resilient place, one below eastern US and one above Austria. New Zealand is 23rd.

The top five are Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland and Singapore, while the UK ranks 15th.

FM Global Australia senior VP operations manager Andrew Stafford says Australian businesses are strong in risk mitigation, ranking 16th for climate risk resilience despite the country’s high exposure.

“However, the index also reveals some vulnerabilities, including in cybersecurity risk.”

Australia ranks 25th in this category. Qatar, Singapore, Greece, the UAE and western US are among the top 10.  

In education, Australia’s climb from 15th last year was driven by increased participation in higher education, strong funding and a significant number of international students.

“Australia’s universities are a key driver of success, consistently performing well in global rankings due to strong research programs, skilled faculty and high student satisfaction,” an FM Global spokesperson told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

The top 10 in education are Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Greece, Zambia, Uruguay and Malta.

See the index here.