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

Health

be 48.2% less likely to be obese

In New Zealand, 34.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Russia, that number is 17.6% of people as of 2024.

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have 41.5% more doctors per person

New Zealand has 36.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Russia has 51.1 as of 2022.

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live 8.6 years less

In New Zealand, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Russia, that number is 73 years (68 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 42.5% less spent on your healthcare

New Zealand spends $5,576 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Russia spends $3,204 as of 2023.

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be 79.3% more likely to die by suicide

New Zealand has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Russia, it is 21.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 58.1% less likely to be unemployed

In New Zealand, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Russia, that number is 2.1% as of 2025.

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make 64.6% less money

New Zealand has a GDP per capita of $49,591 as of 2025, while in Russia, the GDP per capita is $17,547 as of 2025.

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Life

be 28.6% 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 Russia, 9.0 women do as of 2023.

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have 23.8% fewer children

In New Zealand, there are approximately 11.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Russia, there are 8.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 20.2% less on education

New Zealand spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Russia spends 4.2% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 30.0% less on healthcare

New Zealand spends 10.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Russia, that number is 7.0% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 2.5 times more coastline

New Zealand has a total of 15,134 km of coastline. In Russia, that number is 37,653 km.

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Safety

be 4.6 times more likely to be murdered

New Zealand has a homicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Russia, that number is 6.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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be 60.6% more likely to die in a road accident

In New Zealand, road accidents kill 6.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Russia, they kill 10.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 48.8% less strain on fresh water

New Zealand withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Russia withdraws 4% as of 2022.

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find 28.7% less home broadband

New Zealand has 38.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Russia has 27.1 as of 2024.

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Environment

be 3.2 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 Russia, it causes 39.0 as of 2019.

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emit 2.3 times more CO2

New Zealand emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Russia emits 14.0 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Russia: At a glance

Russia is a sovereign country in Central Asia, with a total land area of approximately 16,377,742 sq km. Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new ROMANOV Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics. Since then, Russia has shifted its post-Soviet democratic ambitions in favor of a centralized semi-authoritarian state in which the leadership seeks to legitimize its rule through managed national elections, populist appeals by President PUTIN, and continued economic growth. Russia has severely disabled a Chechen rebel movement, although violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus.
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