Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 10.9 years less

In New Caledonia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Rwanda, that number is 68 years (66 years for men, 70 years for women) as of 2024.

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Economy

make 96.2% less money

New Caledonia has a GDP per capita of $29,213 as of 2024, while in Rwanda, the GDP per capita is $1,124 as of 2025.

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Life

have 100.0% more children

In New Caledonia, there are approximately 14.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Rwanda, there are 28.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 36.1% less likely to have access to electricity

In New Caledonia, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Rwanda, that number is 64% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 58% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 61.3% less likely to have internet access

In New Caledonia, approximately 82.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Rwanda, about 31.7% do as of 2024.

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be 38.3% less likely to have access to drinking water

In New Caledonia, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water as of 2024. In Rwanda, 61% of people do as of 2024.

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Infrastructure

find 96.9% less home broadband

New Caledonia has 19.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Rwanda has 0.6 as of 2024.

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Environment

emit 99.1% less CO2

New Caledonia emits 17.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Rwanda emits 0.2 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. Rwanda

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Rwanda is 58.4% cheaper than New Caledonia overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
New Caledonia is about 1.4 times smaller than Rwanda.
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Moving from New Caledonia to Rwanda · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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Rwanda: At a glance

Rwanda is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 24,668 sq km. In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in a state-orchestrated genocide, in which Rwandans killed up to a million of their fellow citizens, including approximately three-quarters of the Tutsi population. The genocide ended later that same year when the predominantly Tutsi RPF, operating out of Uganda and northern Rwanda, defeated the national army and Hutu militias, and established an RPF-led government of national unity. Approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and former Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but several thousand remained in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, the former Zaire) and formed an extremist insurgency bent on retaking Rwanda, much as the RPF did in 1990. Rwanda held its first local elections in 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in 2003. Rwanda in 2009 staged a joint military operation with the Congolese Army in DRC to rout out the Hutu extremist insurgency there, and Kigali and Kinshasa restored diplomatic relations. Rwanda also joined the Commonwealth in late 2009. In January 2013, Rwanda assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2013-14 term.
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How big is Rwanda compared to New Caledonia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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