If you lived in Portugal instead of New Zealand, you would:

Health

be 46.9% less likely to be obese

In New Zealand, 34.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Portugal, that number is 18.1% of people as of 2024.

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have 62.0% more doctors per person

New Zealand has 36.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Portugal has 58.5 as of 2022.

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see 11.6% less spent on your healthcare

New Zealand spends $5,576 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Portugal spends $4,928 as of 2024.

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Economy

be 21.3% more likely to be unemployed

In New Zealand, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Portugal, that number is 6.2% as of 2025.

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make 35.3% less money

New Zealand has a GDP per capita of $49,591 as of 2025, while in Portugal, the GDP per capita is $32,082 as of 2025.

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Life

be 32.5% 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 Portugal, on the other hand, 2.7 children do as of 2024.

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be 2.1 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 Portugal, 15.0 women do as of 2023.

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have 28.4% fewer children

In New Zealand, there are approximately 11.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Portugal, there are 7.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 12.7% less on education

New Zealand spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Portugal spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

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Geography

see 88.2% less coastline

New Zealand has a total of 15,134 km of coastline. In Portugal, that number is 1,793 km.

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Safety

be 50.7% less likely to be murdered

New Zealand has a homicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Portugal, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2022.

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Infrastructure

find 18.9% more home broadband

New Zealand has 38.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Portugal has 45.2 as of 2024.

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live with 53.0% more strain on fresh water

New Zealand withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Portugal withdraws 12% as of 2022.

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use 33.7% less electricity

New Zealand uses 7,989 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Portugal uses 5,294 kWh as of 2024.

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Environment

be 16.7% less likely to die from air pollution

In New Zealand, air pollution causes 12.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Portugal, it causes 10.0 as of 2019.

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emit 44.8% less CO2

New Zealand emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Portugal emits 3.3 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2019). How we calculate this

Portugal: At a glance

Portugal is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 91,470 sq km. Following its heyday as a global maritime power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence of Brazil, its wealthiest colony, in 1822. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986.
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How big is Portugal compared to New Zealand? See an in-depth size comparison.

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