A shot of Lake Wakatipu. New Zealand is apparently the most prosperous non-European nation.

New Zealand ranks fourth in the world for prosperity, and number one outside of Europe, according to a London-based think tank.

The findings come from the Legatum Institute's annual global Prosperity Index. The index ranks the most prosperous countries in the world, the details of which were reported in The Independent.

To get the data which put New Zealand in the top five, Legatum didn't just consider the amount of money each country had.

JOE ARMAO With the best education system, Australia is ranked seventh.

The think tank looks at 89 variables to come up with the list. They include gross domestic product and the number of people in full-time work, as well as more interesting figures like the number of secure internet servers a country has and how well rested people feel on a daily basis.

READ MORE: New Zealand ranked as the world's 9th best country in global UN report

Based on the available data of 142 countries, Legatum's index ranked the 16 top-performing nations.

REUTERS Norway secures the top spot in the Prosperity Index.

Thanks to New Zealand's strong social cohesion and community engagement, it secured the 4th spot, but also rated the most prosperous non-European nation.

For having the world's best education system, our neighbour across the ditch, Australia, was ranked 7th, The Independent reported.

Falling two places this year, the United Kingdom has to be content with the 15th spot, just behind Germany at 14, which can also boast having the fifth-best economy in the world.

Supplied Switzerland has the number two spot - something it has held on to the last three consecutive years.

The world's most powerful country, the United States was ranked 11th. It scored higher than any other in the institute's health category, but the citizens were among the least safe and secure.

Canada came in sixth place, while Sweden claimed fifth. That was due to the think-tank finding the Swedes were blessed with the world's highest levels of entrepreneurship and opportunity.

With great governance, top-level education and a high social capital score, Denmark was ranked third, while Switzerland sat comfortably in the number two spot - something it has been doing the last three consecutive years.

So which country has the No. 1 spot then?

Well Norway tops the Prosperity Index once again in 2015, just like it has done the past seven years. The Scandinavian nation also scored impressive rankings in all the 10 subindexes covering areas like health, education, personal freedom and strong economy.