Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Poland instead of New Zealand, you would:
Health
be 35.9% less likely to be obese
In New Zealand, 34.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Poland, that number is 21.8% of people as of 2024.
have 11.6% more doctors per person
New Zealand has 36.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Poland has 40.3 as of 2023.
live 3.6 years less
In New Zealand, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Poland, that number is 78 years (75 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2024.
see 29.4% less spent on your healthcare
New Zealand spends $5,576 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Poland spends $3,939 as of 2024.
be 14.7% more likely to die by suicide
New Zealand has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Poland, it is 13.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 41.3% less likely to be unemployed
In New Zealand, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Poland, that number is 3.0% as of 2025.
make 42.7% less money
New Zealand has a GDP per capita of $49,591 as of 2025, while in Poland, the GDP per capita is $28,420 as of 2025.
Life
be 71.4% 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 Poland, 2.0 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 Poland, there are 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 17.3% less on education
New Zealand spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Poland spends 4.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 19.9% less on healthcare
New Zealand spends 10.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Poland, that number is 8.1% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 97.1% less coastline
New Zealand has a total of 15,134 km of coastline. In Poland, that number is 440 km.
Safety
be 45.2% less likely to be murdered
New Zealand has a homicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Poland, that number is 0.8 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 33.4% less home broadband
New Zealand has 38.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Poland has 25.4 as of 2024.
live with 4.0 times more strain on fresh water
New Zealand withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Poland withdraws 32% as of 2022.
use 45.3% less electricity
New Zealand uses 7,989 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Poland uses 4,370 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 3.4 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 Poland, it causes 41.0 as of 2019.
emit 25.6% more CO2
New Zealand emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Poland emits 7.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2019). How we calculate this
Compare further: New Zealand vs. Poland
Poland: At a glance
How big is Poland compared to New Zealand? See an in-depth size comparison.