Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Kuwait instead of New Zealand, you would:
Health
live 2.6 years longer
In New Zealand, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 85 years (84 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024.
be 80.6% less likely to die by suicide
New Zealand has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Kuwait, it is 2.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 18.8% more likely to be obese
In New Zealand, 34.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 40.4% of people as of 2024.
see 54.0% less spent on your healthcare
New Zealand spends $5,576 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Kuwait spends $2,567 as of 2023.
have 37.1% fewer doctors per person
New Zealand has 36.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Kuwait has 22.7 as of 2020.
Economy
be 57.1% less likely to be unemployed
In New Zealand, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Kuwait, that number is 2.2% as of 2025.
make 34.8% less money
New Zealand has a GDP per capita of $49,591 as of 2025, while in Kuwait, the GDP per capita is $32,312 as of 2025.
Life
be 75.0% 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 Kuwait, on the other hand, 7.0 children do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 50.7% less on healthcare
New Zealand spends 10.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 5.0% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 23.6% more on education
New Zealand spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Kuwait spends 6.4% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 96.7% less coastline
New Zealand has a total of 15,134 km of coastline. In Kuwait, that number is 499 km.
Safety
be 82.9% less likely to be murdered
New Zealand has a homicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Kuwait, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 39.4% more likely to die in a road accident
In New Zealand, road accidents kill 6.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Kuwait, they kill 9.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
use 2.1 times more electricity
New Zealand uses 7,989 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Kuwait uses 16,496 kWh as of 2023.
find 97.3% less home broadband
New Zealand has 38.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Kuwait has 1.0 as of 2023.
live with 478.3 times more strain on fresh water
New Zealand withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Kuwait withdraws 3850% as of 2022.
Environment
be 3.8 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 Kuwait, it causes 45.0 as of 2019.
emit 3.9 times more CO2
New Zealand emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Kuwait emits 23.7 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: New Zealand vs. Kuwait
Kuwait: At a glance
How big is Kuwait compared to New Zealand? See an in-depth size comparison.