Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in New Zealand instead of Canada, you would:

Health

live 1.3 years less

In Canada, the average life expectancy is 84 years (82 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In New Zealand, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 30.4% less likely to be unemployed

In Canada, 5.4% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In New Zealand, that number is 3.7% as of 2023.

make 12.5% less money

Canada has a GDP per capita of $55,800 as of 2023, while in New Zealand, the GDP per capita is $48,800 as of 2023.

Life

be 36.4% less likely to die during childbirth

In Canada, approximately 11.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In New Zealand, 7.0 women do as of 2020.

be 21.5% less likely to die during infancy

In Canada, approximately 4.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In New Zealand, on the other hand, 3.4 children do as of 2022.

have 23.9% more children

In Canada, there are approximately 10.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In New Zealand, there are 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Expenditures

spend 22.5% less on healthcare

Canada spends 12.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In New Zealand, that number is 10.0% of GDP as of 2020.

spend 15.4% more on education

Canada spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. New Zealand spends 6.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 92.5% less coastline

Canada has a total of 202,080 km of coastline. In New Zealand, that number is 15,134 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

New Zealand: At a glance

New Zealand (sometimes abbreviated NZ) is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 264,537 sq km. The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. That same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both world wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.
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How big is New Zealand compared to Canada? See an in-depth size comparison.

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