Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Ireland instead of New Caledonia, you would:

Health

live 4.1 years longer

In New Caledonia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Ireland, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024.

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Economy

be 58.5% less likely to be unemployed

In New Caledonia, 11.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Ireland, that number is 4.6% as of 2025.

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make 4.5 times more money

New Caledonia has a GDP per capita of $29,213 as of 2024, while in Ireland, the GDP per capita is $131,592 as of 2025.

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Life

have 28.7% fewer children

In New Caledonia, there are approximately 14.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Ireland, there are 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 18.5% more likely to have internet access

In New Caledonia, approximately 82.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Ireland, about 97.2% do as of 2024.

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Geography

see 35.8% less coastline

New Caledonia has a total of 2,254 km of coastline. In Ireland, that number is 1,448 km.

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Infrastructure

find 66.8% more home broadband

New Caledonia has 19.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Ireland has 32.3 as of 2024.

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Environment

emit 64.6% less CO2

New Caledonia emits 17.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Ireland emits 6.0 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this

Compare further: New Caledonia vs. Ireland

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Ireland is 4.2% more expensive than New Caledonia overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
New Caledonia is about 3.8 times smaller than Ireland.
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Moving from New Caledonia to Ireland · UN DESA 2020
6 people born in New Caledonia live in Ireland.
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Ireland: At a glance

Ireland is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 68,883 sq km. Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600 and 150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. Norman invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. The Irish famine of the mid-19th century saw the population of the island drop by one third through starvation and emigration. For more than a century after that the population of the island continued to fall only to begin growing again in the 1960s. Over the last 50 years, Ireland's high birthrate has made it demographically one of the youngest populations in the EU. The modern Irish state traces its origins to the failed 1916 Easter Monday Uprising which touched off several years of guerrilla warfare resulting in independence from the UK in 1921 for 26 southern counties; six northern counties remained part of the UK. Unresolved issues in Northern Ireland erupted into years of violence known as the "Troubles" that began in the 1960s. The Government of Ireland was part of a process along with the UK and US Governments that helped broker what is known as The Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland in 1998. This initiated a new phase of cooperation between Irish and British governments. Ireland was neutral in World War II and continues its policy of military neutrality. Ireland joined the European Community in 1973 and the Eurozone currency union in 1999. The economic boom years of the Celtic Tiger (1995-2007) saw rapid economic growth, which came to an abrupt end in 2008 with the meltdown of the Irish banking system. Today the economy is recovering, fueled by large and growing foreign direct investment, especially from US multi-nationals.
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How big is Ireland compared to New Caledonia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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