Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 9.4 years longer

In Iraq, the average life expectancy is 73 years (71 years for men, 75 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

make 3.9 times more money

Iraq has a GDP per capita of $12,600 as of 2023, while in New Zealand, the GDP per capita is $48,800 as of 2023.

be 75.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Iraq, 15.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In New Zealand, that number is 3.7% as of 2023.

pay a 2.2 times higher top tax rate

Iraq has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In New Zealand, the top tax rate is 33.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 90.8% less likely to die during childbirth

In Iraq, approximately 76.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In New Zealand, 7.0 women do as of 2020.

be 82.5% less likely to die during infancy

In Iraq, approximately 19.6 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 46.8% fewer children

In Iraq, there are approximately 23.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In New Zealand, there are 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 95.9% more likely to have internet access

In Iraq, approximately 49.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In New Zealand, about 96.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 27.7% more on education

Iraq spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2016. New Zealand spends 6.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 96.1% more on healthcare

Iraq spends 5.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In New Zealand, that number is 10.0% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 260.9 times more coastline

Iraq has a total of 58 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, Ministry of Finance, New Zealand Inland Revenue Department.

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 Iraq? See an in-depth size comparison.

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