Norway and Switzerland have overtaken New Zealand in Bloomberg's COVID Resilience Ranking - a list of the best and worst countries in the world to be in during the pandemic.
The ranking analyses how major countries around the world are dealing with the impacts of the pandemic, taking into account social and economic disruption, mortality and infection rates, freedom of movement, and the success of their vaccine rollouts.
There are 12 data indicators across COVID-19 containment, quality of healthcare, vaccination coverage, overall mortality, and progress toward restarting travel and easing border restrictions.
With nearly half of its population vaccinated, few new fatalities, and a border open to some overseas travellers, Norway is now in the top spot, Bloomberg says.
Switzerland is in the second spot as the country embraces travel and records a decreasing number of deaths.
And despite being number one for six out of the nine months Bloomberg has issued the ranking, New Zealand has now dropped to number three, due to it "trailing" behind on vaccinations and reopening borders.
France is in fourth and the United States, which was number one in last month's ranking, has dropped to fifth.
"The shifts in the Ranking in July reflect the tension between vaccine-led reopening and virus containment as contagious new strains spread," Bloomberg says.
"While the US was once in the sweet spot of high inoculation, waning case counts and rapid reopening, now it's at a crossroads with vaccination hitting a wall and infections flaring again."
Just 15.8 percent of Kiwis are vaccinated, Bloomberg says, based on the number of doses administered and the mix of vaccine types used. This puts New Zealand behind the likes of Australia, Malaysia, Colombia, and South Korea.
According to Our World In Data, 14.51 percent of New Zealanders - out of a population of five million - had been fully vaccinated by July 27. By the same date, 13.51 percent of Australians had received both jabs out of a population of roughly 25.4 million.
"Parts of the Asia-Pacific region that have relied on eliminating COVID and keeping it out - meaning their overall mortality rates are vastly lower - score poorly on reopening," Bloomberg says.
"The low virus risk level has also damped the urgency for vaccines in some places, with both New Zealand and Australia's rollout covering less than a fourth of their populations."
New Zealand also scores poorly on vaccinated travel routes - which measures the number of inbound and outbound routes a country has with the rest of the world - and 2021 GDP growth forecast.
But we excel in many other areas, with lockdown severity, flight capacity, positive test rates, fatality rates, community mobility, universal healthcare coverage, and human development all ranking among the best in the world.
