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

Health

see 11.7% more spent on your healthcare

Italy spends $4,993 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). New Zealand spends $5,576 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

live 1.9 years less

In Italy, the average life expectancy is 84 years (82 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024. In New Zealand, that number is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 2.4 times more likely to be obese

In Italy, 14.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In New Zealand, that number is 34.0% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

have 13.8% fewer doctors per person

Italy has 41.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. New Zealand has 36.1 as of 2022.

View global rankings →

be 70.5% more likely to die by suicide

Italy has a suicide rate of 7.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In New Zealand, it is 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 20.5% less likely to be unemployed

In Italy, 6.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In New Zealand, that number is 5.1% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

make 14.5% more money

Italy has a GDP per capita of $43,309 as of 2025, while in New Zealand, the GDP per capita is $49,591 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

have 75.1% more children

In Italy, there are approximately 6.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In New Zealand, there are 11.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 16.7% more likely to die during childbirth

In Italy, approximately 6.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In New Zealand, 7.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 73.9% more likely to die during infancy

In Italy, approximately 2.3 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In New Zealand, on the other hand, 4.0 children do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 28.0% more on education

Italy spends 4.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. New Zealand spends 5.2% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

View global rankings →

spend 19.2% more on healthcare

Italy spends 8.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In New Zealand, that number is 10.1% of GDP as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 99.1% more coastline

Italy has a total of 7,600 km of coastline. In New Zealand, that number is 15,134 km.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 2.6 times more likely to be murdered

Italy has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In New Zealand, that number is 1.5 per 100,000 as of 2022.

View global rankings →

be 32.0% more likely to die in a road accident

In Italy, road accidents kill 5.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In New Zealand, they kill 6.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 19.7% more home broadband

Italy has 31.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. New Zealand has 38.0 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

live with 73.0% less strain on fresh water

Italy withdraws 30% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. New Zealand withdraws 8% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

use 55.5% more electricity

Italy uses 5,137 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. New Zealand uses 7,989 kWh as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Environment

be 20.0% less likely to die from air pollution

In Italy, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In New Zealand, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →

emit 18.3% more CO2

Italy emits 5.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. New Zealand emits 6.0 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →


Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

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 Italy? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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