Quality of life comparison
If you lived in New Zealand instead of Maldives, you would:
Health
see 2.4 times more spent on your healthcare
Maldives spends $2,288 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). New Zealand spends $5,576 as of 2024.
have 61.6% more doctors per person
Maldives has 22.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2019. New Zealand has 36.1 as of 2022.
have 39.3% more access to essential health services
Maldives scores 61 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. New Zealand scores 85 as of 2021.
be 90.5% more likely to be obese
In Maldives, 17.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In New Zealand, that number is 34.0% of people as of 2024.
be 8.1 times more likely to die by suicide
Maldives has a suicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In New Zealand, it is 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 3.4 times more money
Maldives has a GDP per capita of $14,615 as of 2025, while in New Zealand, the GDP per capita is $49,591 as of 2025.
be 12.6% more likely to be unemployed
In Maldives, 4.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In New Zealand, that number is 5.1% as of 2025.
Life
be 78.1% less likely to die during childbirth
In Maldives, approximately 32.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In New Zealand, 7.0 women do as of 2023.
be 14.9% less likely to die during infancy
In Maldives, approximately 4.7 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.
Geography
see 23.5 times more coastline
Maldives has a total of 644 km of coastline. In New Zealand, that number is 15,134 km.
Safety
be 2.4 times more likely to be murdered
Maldives has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In New Zealand, that number is 1.5 per 100,000 as of 2022.
be 5.1 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Maldives, road accidents kill 1.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In New Zealand, they kill 6.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 93.6% more home broadband
Maldives has 19.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. New Zealand has 38.0 as of 2024.
live with 48.6% less strain on fresh water
Maldives withdraws 16% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. New Zealand withdraws 8% as of 2022.
Environment
be 58.6% less likely to die from air pollution
In Maldives, air pollution causes 29.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In New Zealand, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
emit 68.3% more CO2
Maldives emits 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. New Zealand emits 6.0 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Maldives vs. New Zealand
New Zealand: At a glance
How big is New Zealand compared to Maldives? See an in-depth size comparison.