Ranking
Safest Countries in Oceania 2026
Every independent country in Oceania, from Australia and New Zealand to the island states of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. Territories such as Hawaii, Guam, New Caledonia and French Polynesia are not on the list, because we score countries. Each score is built for visitors and combines homicide, conflict and terrorism, road deaths, health care, natural hazards and petty crime.
Updated · Scores update with each page
The ranking
Australia
Australia is very safe from crime, with fewer than 1 homicide per 100,000 people. The real risks are the beach, the sun and the distances. Rip currents, bushfires, extreme heat and remote roads cause far more harm to visitors than crime, and the December 2025 Bondi attack raised the terrorism picture.
Score 85, grade ANew Zealand
New Zealand is one of the most peaceful countries in the world and crime against visitors is rare. The risks are natural and self-inflicted. Earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, sudden alpine weather and unfamiliar winding roads hurt far more tourists than crime does.
Score 85, grade AFiji
Fiji is a calm, friendly place for a holiday, with a US Level 1 advisory and low serious crime. The risks are practical rather than criminal; road deaths rose sharply in 2025, cyclones hit from November to April, and serious illness or a diving accident often means evacuation abroad.
Score 78, grade BSamoa
Samoa is one of the calmest places in the Pacific for a visitor, with a US Level 1 advisory and little theft. The risks come from nature and distance; lagoon currents, unlit roads at night, a dengue outbreak since April 2025, cyclones and tsunamis, and evacuation abroad for serious illness.
Score 76, grade BNauru
Nauru is a tiny, quiet island with a US Level 1 advisory and no reported crime problem for visitors. The catches are practical; very basic health care with evacuation to Australia, dengue, biting dogs, drought, one ATM, and almost no crime statistics to judge it by.
Score 74, grade BVanuatu
Vanuatu is a low-crime country with some of the highest natural hazard exposure anywhere. A magnitude 7.3 earthquake killed 14 people in Port Vila in December 2024, cyclones and volcanoes regularly disrupt travel, malaria is present, and serious illness means evacuation to Australia or New Zealand.
Score 74, grade BKiribati
Kiribati is peaceful and rarely visited, with a US Level 1 advisory and few roads. The risks are health and isolation; one of the highest tuberculosis rates anywhere, a polluted lagoon on South Tarawa, evacuation for anything serious, sporadic flights and low atolls exposed to rising seas.
Score 72, grade BTonga
Tonga is a quiet, conservative kingdom where serious crime is rare and the US advises normal precautions. The real risks are natural and practical: the January 2022 eruption and tsunami, cyclones, unlit roads with a volatile road-death record, repeated dengue outbreaks and hospitals that send most serious cases abroad.
Score 72, grade BMarshall Islands
The Marshall Islands are quiet and low in crime, with a US Level 1 advisory. The risks are health and geography; a dengue outbreak declared in August 2026, one of the world's highest tuberculosis rates, very limited hospital care that means evacuation for anything serious, and atolls barely above the sea.
Score 70, grade BMicronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia is a quiet, low-crime destination with a US Level 1 advisory. The risks are distance and weather; Typhoon Sinlaku hit Chuuk in April 2026, care for anything serious means evacuation to Guam, and the data on crime and roads is thin.
Score 66, grade CPalau
Palau is a calm, low-theft destination with a US Level 1 advisory. Its score is held down by statistics from a population of 18,000, where two or three killings or road deaths a year mean high rates, and by typhoons, unexploded wartime bombs and limited hospital care.
Score 64, grade CTuvalu
Tuvalu is a peaceful atoll nation with a US Level 1 advisory and no reported theft or violence against visitors. The risks are the setting: low atolls exposed to cyclones and rising seas, one hospital with evacuation abroad, dengue, untreated water and rare flights. Crime data is 14 years old.
Score 63, grade CSolomon Islands
The Solomon Islands reward careful travellers with reefs and WWII history, but it is a harder trip than Fiji or Samoa. Malaria is the biggest risk, Honiara has robbery and a record of riots (most recently in November 2021), roads are poor, and hospitals run short of basic supplies.
Score 59, grade CPapua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is manageable on an organised trip and risky without one. Armed robbery, carjacking and sexual assault are common in Port Moresby, Lae and Mount Hagen, tribal fighting closes parts of the Highlands, and hospitals are very basic. Remote lodges, dive resorts and guided treks are far safer than the towns.
Score 42, grade D
Which countries are on the list
The rule is the UN's statistical map of Oceania (the M49 standard): every sovereign state in it, which is 14 countries, all of which we score. That means Australia and New Zealand, the Melanesian states of Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, the Micronesian states of Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru and Palau, and Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu in Polynesia. Territories of the US, France, the UK and New Zealand are left out because they have no country page of their own.
How the order is built
Every country has its own page with six scored factors. Violent crime carries 25%, conflict and terrorism and road safety 20% each, health 15%, and natural hazards and petty crime 10% each. The list sorts those scores from the highest down and moves whenever we update a page. The rubrics are on how we score countries.
A country's overall score can never be more than 35 points above its conflict score. In Oceania the cap does not bind anywhere. UCDP recorded no state-based conflict deaths in any of these countries in recent years, and Papua New Guinea's clan fighting counts under violent crime.
Why Australia and New Zealand lead
Australia and New Zealand have low Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary, good roads by world standards, no armed conflict and some of the best hospitals anywhere. They lose their few points to nature. Rip currents, bushfires, heat and cyclones in Australia, and earthquakes, volcanoes and sudden alpine weather in New Zealand, cause far more harm to visitors than crime. Australia also loses some on terrorism after the Bondi Beach attack.
What holds the island states back
Crime is rarely the problem. Most island nations have a US Level 1 advisory, and the US and UK report little crime aimed at visitors. The points go on health and nature instead. Hospitals are basic almost everywhere, and serious cases are flown to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji or Guam. Dengue outbreaks ran in Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Nauru and the Marshall Islands in 2025 and 2026, and Kiribati and the Marshall Islands have some of the highest tuberculosis rates in the world. Cyclones and typhoons hit most of the region, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake killed 14 people in Port Vila in December 2024, and the atolls of Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands are a few metres above the sea.
Small populations also move the numbers. In Palau, with under 18,000 people, two or three killings or a few road deaths a year make high rates. Nauru and the Marshall Islands have no published Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary at all, so we do not score them above neighbours with measured figures.
Why some countries are lower
The Solomon Islands combine the highest malaria burden in the Pacific with robbery and a record of riots in Honiara. Papua New Guinea is at the bottom: armed crime in the towns, tribal fighting in the Highlands, malaria, poor roads and very basic hospitals.
What the score does not tell you
The score is an average for visitors across a whole country. It cannot show one reef, one trail or one season, and a dive resort in Papua New Guinea is a very different place from Port Moresby after dark. On the smaller islands, flights are few, ATMs are rare or empty, and help can be days away. Check the official advice and the cyclone season before you book, and make sure your insurance covers evacuation.
Questions
What is the safest country in Oceania?
Australia and New Zealand lead the list, and the gap between them is small enough that one update could swap them. Both have fewer than 1.5 Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary people, no armed conflict and very good hospitals. New Zealand is second of 163 countries on the 2026 Global Peace IndexAn annual ranking of 163 countries by how peaceful they are, based on conflict, crime, militarisation and political instability.More in the glossary. In both, the beach, the mountains and the roads hurt more visitors than crime does.
What is the safest Pacific island to visit?
Among the island nations, Fiji and Samoa come first, both with a US Level 1 advisory and little serious crime against visitors. Vanuatu, Nauru, Tonga and Kiribati follow close behind. On all of them the practical risks are cyclones, dengue, unlit roads at night and hospitals that send serious cases to Australia or New Zealand, so buy insurance that covers medical evacuation.
Is Australia safer than New Zealand?
They are about equal, with different risks. Australia has the lower Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary, 0.85 per 100,000 in 2023 against 1.46 in New Zealand in 2022, and safer roads on WHO's 2023 estimate. Australia also had the Bondi Beach terrorist attack in December 2025, which killed 15. New Zealand's main hazards are earthquakes, volcanoes and fast-changing alpine weather.
Is Papua New Guinea safe to visit?
It is the hardest trip in Oceania. The US rates it Level 3, reconsider travel, and the FCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary advises against all but essential travel to Hela, Southern Highlands and most of Enga because of tribal fighting. Armed robbery, carjacking and sexual assault are common in Port Moresby, Lae and Mount Hagen. Organised lodges, dive resorts and guided treks are far safer than independent travel through the towns.
Is Fiji safe for tourists?
Yes, for most visitors. The US rates Fiji Level 1 and resort areas see little crime. The risks are practical. Fiji Police reported 73% more road deaths in 2025 than in the same period of 2024, many roads are unlit at night, cyclones strike from November to April, and serious illness or a diving accident often means evacuation abroad. See the Fiji page.
Is the Solomon Islands safe to visit?
With planning, yes, but it is a harder trip than Fiji or Samoa. Malaria is the biggest risk, with 123,476 confirmed cases in WHO's 2024 profile for about 800,000 people. Honiara has violent robberies and a record of riots, most recently in November 2021, and its main hospital often runs short of blood and basic drugs.
Why are Hawaii, Guam and Tahiti not on this list?
We rank countries, and Hawaii and Guam belong to the US, while Tahiti is part of French Polynesia and New Caledonia is also French. They have no country page of their own. Hawaii's capital has its own page, Honolulu, on our list of US cities.