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

Health

be 29.1% less likely to be obese

In New Zealand, 34.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Albania, that number is 24.1% of people as of 2024.

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be 76.9% less likely to die by suicide

New Zealand has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Albania, it is 2.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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live 2.2 years less

In New Zealand, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Albania, that number is 80 years (78 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 73.7% less spent on your healthcare

New Zealand spends $5,576 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Albania spends $1,465 as of 2023.

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have 48.0% fewer doctors per person

New Zealand has 36.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Albania has 18.8 as of 2020.

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have 24.7% less access to essential health services

New Zealand scores 85 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Albania scores 64 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 2.2 times more likely to be unemployed

In New Zealand, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Albania, that number is 10.9% as of 2025.

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make 73.8% less money

New Zealand has a GDP per capita of $49,591 as of 2025, while in Albania, the GDP per capita is $12,998 as of 2025.

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Life

be 2.1 times more likely to die during infancy

In New Zealand, approximately 4.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Albania, on the other hand, 8.3 children do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 40.7% less on education

New Zealand spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Albania spends 3.1% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 29.9% less on healthcare

New Zealand spends 10.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Albania, that number is 7.0% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 97.6% less coastline

New Zealand has a total of 15,134 km of coastline. In Albania, that number is 362 km.

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Safety

be 63.6% more likely to die in a road accident

In New Zealand, road accidents kill 6.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Albania, they kill 10.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 40.5% less strain on fresh water

New Zealand withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Albania withdraws 5% as of 2022.

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find 34.6% less home broadband

New Zealand has 38.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Albania has 24.9 as of 2024.

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use 63.8% less electricity

New Zealand uses 7,989 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Albania uses 2,892 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

emit 70.2% less CO2

New Zealand emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Albania emits 1.8 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 4.9 times more likely to die from air pollution

In New Zealand, air pollution causes 12.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Albania, it causes 59.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Albania: At a glance

Albania is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 27,398 sq km. Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939, and occupied by Germany in 1943. Communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960), and then with China (to 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, dilapidated infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents. Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain. International observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997; however, each of Albania's post-communist elections have been marred by claims of electoral fraud. The 2009 general elections resulted in a coalition government, the first such in the country's history. In 2013, general elections achieved a peaceful transition of power and a second successive coalition government. Albania joined NATO in April 2009 and is a potential candidate for EU accession. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, it has slowed, and the country is still one of the poorest in Europe. A large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure remain obstacles.
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