Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Latvia instead of New Zealand, you would:
Health
be 34.4% less likely to be obese
In New Zealand, 34.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Latvia, that number is 22.3% of people as of 2024.
live 5.6 years less
In New Zealand, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Latvia, that number is 76 years (72 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2024.
see 45.6% less spent on your healthcare
New Zealand spends $5,576 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Latvia spends $3,034 as of 2023.
have 11.8% less access to essential health services
New Zealand scores 85 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Latvia scores 75 as of 2021.
be 27.6% more likely to die by suicide
New Zealand has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Latvia, it is 15.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 29.3% more likely to be unemployed
In New Zealand, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Latvia, that number is 6.6% as of 2025.
make 46.9% less money
New Zealand has a GDP per capita of $49,591 as of 2025, while in Latvia, the GDP per capita is $26,312 as of 2025.
Life
be 45.0% 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 Latvia, on the other hand, 2.2 children do as of 2024.
be 2.7 times more 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 Latvia, 19.0 women do as of 2023.
have 37.4% fewer children
In New Zealand, there are approximately 11.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Latvia, there are 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 17.1% less on education
New Zealand spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Latvia spends 4.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 27.6% less on healthcare
New Zealand spends 10.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Latvia, that number is 7.3% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 96.7% less coastline
New Zealand has a total of 15,134 km of coastline. In Latvia, that number is 498 km.
Safety
be 71.2% more likely to be murdered
New Zealand has a homicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Latvia, that number is 2.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 48.5% more likely to die in a road accident
In New Zealand, road accidents kill 6.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Latvia, they kill 9.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 87.3% less strain on fresh water
New Zealand withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Latvia withdraws 1% as of 2022.
find 32.3% less home broadband
New Zealand has 38.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Latvia has 25.8 as of 2024.
use 52.8% less electricity
New Zealand uses 7,989 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Latvia uses 3,768 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
emit 39.3% less CO2
New Zealand emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Latvia emits 3.6 tonnes as of 2024.
be 3.3 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 Latvia, it causes 40.0 as of 2019.
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. Latvia
Latvia: At a glance
How big is Latvia compared to New Zealand? See an in-depth size comparison.