Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of New Zealand, you would:
Health
live 2.0 years longer
In New Zealand, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 84 years (81 years for men, 87 years for women) as of 2024.
be 82.7% less likely to be obese
In New Zealand, 34.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
have 26.6% fewer doctors per person
New Zealand has 36.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
be 46.2% more likely to die by suicide
New Zealand has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 51.8% less likely to be unemployed
In New Zealand, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 27.5% less money
New Zealand has a GDP per capita of $49,591 as of 2025, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $35,951 as of 2025.
Life
be 57.1% 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 Japan, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 55.0% 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 Japan, on the other hand, 1.8 children do as of 2024.
have 48.3% fewer children
In New Zealand, there are approximately 11.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Japan, there are 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 35.9% less on education
New Zealand spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
Geography
see 96.6% more coastline
New Zealand has a total of 15,134 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 84.2% less likely to be murdered
New Zealand has a homicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Japan, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 59.1% less likely to die in a road accident
In New Zealand, road accidents kill 6.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 4.6 times more strain on fresh water
New Zealand withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 30.4% more CO2
New Zealand emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Japan emits 7.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: New Zealand vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to New Zealand? See an in-depth size comparison.