New Zealand has been ranked as the third best country in the world to die in, coming in behind the UK and Australia.

The Economist's 2015 Quality of Death Index did a study of palliative care in 80 countries around the world, with NZ lining up as the third best.

Facilities such as Waipuna Hospice have helped rank New Zealand as the third-best country to die in. Photo: File.

Palliative care is for those suffering fatal illnesses, and focuses on pain relief and support for those who are dying.

The latest study revealed that Ireland and Belgium were ranked fourth and fifth in the world, while the United States came in ninth and Canada was placed 11th. Iraq was ranked at the bottom of the list.

New Zealand, the UK, and Australia took the same spots in 2010, when the first ever Quality of Death Index was released.

The study consists of research and interviews with more than 120 palliative care experts and shows that in general, countries of higher income were more likely to provide better care for dying patients.

However, some of the developing nations are moving fast up the list.

Demand was calculated by looking at both the demographic trends and the rates of heart disease, where palliative care is often needed.

While New Zealand is not in the top group in terms of supply and demand, it still has an 'adequate” number of specialised palliative care workers.

There were shortages in some other professionals who supported the dying, such as psychologists and social workers.

According to the study, China had one of the larger supply and demand gaps for their gigantic, ageing population.

New Zealand, along with 10 other nations, came second equal in terms of affordability of care, behind first equal group of five Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK.

It came fourth in "quality" of care, behind the UK, Sweden, and Australia.

This category was based on research into psychological support, painkiller availability, monitoring standards for palliative care organisations, and the presence of "do not resuscitate" policies.

New Zealand came joint-first with Belgium in terms of community engagement.