Australia has moved up one place in this year’s FM Global Resilience Index, which has also highlighted the country’s challenges in dealing with climate risk exposure. 

The index, which ranks 130 countries on 15 measures of economic, risk quality and supply chain resilience, places Denmark, Singapore, Luxembourg, Germany and Switzerland in the top five, while Australia has moved up to 19th place overall from 20th previously. 

Australia ranks 107th on the list for climate exposure, which is the percentage of a country’s area devoted to economic activities that is exposed to wind or flood. At the same time, it ranks 15th on the climate risk quality measure, which takes into account the quality and enforcement of building codes. 

“Australia as a whole ranks relatively well when it comes to our preparedness against climate risks but at the same time, we rank relatively poorly for climate risk exposure,” FM Global Australia Senior Vice President, Operations Manager Andrew Stafford said. 

Climate-related business disruptions are a concern in the region and the index can help business leaders understand local vulnerabilities, evaluate risk and take informed and actionable decisions so they can continue to operate even in the most challenging times, he says. 

FM Global says the global economy is another concern, and more productive countries, with higher gross domestic product per capita, generally have more resilient business environments. Health expenditure per capita, energy intensity and high urbanization rates also affect resilience.  

The biggest riser in the index was the Dominican Republic, which rose from 99th to 95th based on a higher climate risk quality ranking this year. The biggest faller was Lebanon, which dropped from 101st to 106th due in part to a lower ranking in health care spending.