Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Economy

pay a 26.7% lower top tax rate

Australia has a top tax rate of 45.0% as of 2016. In New Zealand, the top tax rate is 33.0% as of 2016.

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make 19.8% less money

Australia has a GDP per capita of $60,100 as of 2024, while in New Zealand, the GDP per capita is $48,200 as of 2024.

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be 19.5% more likely to be unemployed

In Australia, 4.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2024. In New Zealand, that number is 4.9% as of 2024.

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Life

have 15.3% more children

In Australia, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2025. In New Zealand, there are 12.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2025.

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be 3.5 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Australia, approximately 2.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2023. In New Zealand, 7.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 14.3% more likely to die during infancy

In Australia, approximately 3.0 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.

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Geography

see 41.2% less coastline

Australia has a total of 25,760 km of coastline. In New Zealand, that number is 15,134 km.

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The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Australian Taxation Office, 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 Australia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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