Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 2.3 years less

In Japan, the average life expectancy is 85 years (82 years for men, 88 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.

be 7.2 times more likely to be obese

In Japan, 4.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In New Zealand, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2016.

Economy

pay a 41.0% lower top tax rate

Japan has a top tax rate of 56.0% as of 2016. In New Zealand, the top tax rate is 33.0% as of 2016.

be 45.0% more likely to be unemployed

In Japan, 2.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In New Zealand, that number is 3.7% as of 2023.

Life

have 82.6% more children

In Japan, there are approximately 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In New Zealand, there are 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 75.0% more likely to die during childbirth

In Japan, approximately 4.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In New Zealand, 7.0 women do as of 2020.

be 81.1% more likely to die during infancy

In Japan, approximately 1.9 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.

Basic Needs

be 15.7% more likely to have internet access

In Japan, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In New Zealand, about 96.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 76.5% more on education

Japan spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. New Zealand spends 6.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 49.1% less coastline

Japan has a total of 29,751 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 Inland Revenue Department, National Tax Agency Japan.

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.
Read more

How big is New Zealand compared to Japan? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about New Zealand.or Japan It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.