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

Health

live 5.0 years less

In New Zealand, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2022. In Tonga, that number is 78 years (76 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2022.

be 56.5% more likely to be obese

In New Zealand, 30.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Tonga, that number is 48.2% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 26.4% less likely to be unemployed

In New Zealand, 3.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Tonga, that number is 2.4% as of 2022.

make 86.5% less money

New Zealand has a GDP per capita of $45,200 as of 2022, while in Tonga, the GDP per capita is $6,100 as of 2021.

Life

have 56.3% more children

In New Zealand, there are approximately 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Tonga, there are 19.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 18.0 times more likely to die during childbirth

In New Zealand, approximately 7.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Tonga, 126.0 women do as of 2020.

be 3.6 times more likely to die during infancy

In New Zealand, approximately 3.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Tonga, on the other hand, 12.4 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 30.2% less likely to have internet access

In New Zealand, approximately 96.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Tonga, about 67.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 47.0% less on healthcare

New Zealand spends 10.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Tonga, that number is 5.3% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 97.2% less coastline

New Zealand has a total of 15,134 km of coastline. In Tonga, that number is 419 km.


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

Tonga: At a glance

Tonga is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 717 sq km. Tonga - unique among Pacific nations - never completely lost its indigenous governance. The archipelagos of "The Friendly Islands" were united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. Tonga became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900; it withdrew from the protectorate and joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. Tonga remains the only monarchy in the Pacific.
Read more

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

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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