The All Blacks have topped the world rankings for a fifth consecutive year while neighbours Australia have slipped to a record low.
An unbeaten run through America and Europe on the back of their Rugby Championship triumph has kept Steve Hansen's team comfortably in front of the second-ranked Springboks.
But it's been a disastrous period for the Wallabies settling in under new coach Michael Cheika.
Consecutive losses to France and Ireland have caused the Wallabies to slip to No 5, their lowest position since the rankings system was introduced by World Rugby (formerly the IRB) in 2003.
Australia have a last-gasp chance to bounce back when they take on England at Twickenham this weekend with Cheika imploring his team to "harden up".
Ireland were at No 3 in the rankings after an impressive November in which they beat the Springboks and the Wallabies.
Despite losing to the All Blacks at the weekend, Wales have climbed one place to sixth as a result of France's 18-13 defeat to the lower ranked Argentina in Paris.
WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS
(Previous position in brackets)
1(1) New Zealand 93.70
2(2) South Africa 89.93
3(3) Ireland 85.48
4(5) England 84.21
5(4) Australia 83.59
6(7) Wales 79.94
7(6) France 79.66
8(8) Scotland 78.78
9(9) Argentina 78.23
10(11) Samoa 75.39
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