Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Belgium instead of New Zealand, you would:
Health
be 38.7% less likely to be obese
In New Zealand, 34.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Belgium, that number is 20.9% of people as of 2024.
see 34.3% more spent on your healthcare
New Zealand spends $5,576 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Belgium spends $7,489 as of 2023.
be 54.0% more likely to die by suicide
New Zealand has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Belgium, it is 18.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 22.5% more money
New Zealand has a GDP per capita of $49,591 as of 2025, while in Belgium, the GDP per capita is $60,750 as of 2025.
be 16.3% more likely to be unemployed
In New Zealand, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Belgium, that number is 5.9% as of 2025.
Life
be 42.9% less likely to die during childbirth
In New Zealand, approximately 7.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Belgium, 4.0 women do as of 2023.
be 22.5% less 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 Belgium, on the other hand, 3.1 children do as of 2024.
have 16.6% fewer children
In New Zealand, there are approximately 11.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Belgium, there are 9.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 20.5% more on education
New Zealand spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Belgium spends 6.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 99.6% less coastline
New Zealand has a total of 15,134 km of coastline. In Belgium, that number is 66 km.
Safety
be 26.0% less likely to be murdered
New Zealand has a homicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Belgium, that number is 1.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 30.3% less likely to die in a road accident
In New Zealand, road accidents kill 6.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Belgium, they kill 4.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 16.2% more home broadband
New Zealand has 38.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Belgium has 44.2 as of 2024.
live with 6.6 times more strain on fresh water
New Zealand withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Belgium withdraws 53% as of 2022.
use 11.1% less electricity
New Zealand uses 7,989 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Belgium uses 7,099 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 25.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In New Zealand, air pollution causes 12.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Belgium, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 21.6% more CO2
New Zealand emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Belgium emits 7.3 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: New Zealand vs. Belgium
Belgium: At a glance
How big is Belgium compared to New Zealand? See an in-depth size comparison.