Quality of life comparison
If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of New Zealand, you would:
Health
live 1.1 years longer
In New Zealand, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 83 years (82 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024.
be 85.7% less likely to die by suicide
New Zealand has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In United Arab Emirates, it is 1.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 33.2% less spent on your healthcare
New Zealand spends $5,576 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). United Arab Emirates spends $3,727 as of 2023.
have 17.1% fewer doctors per person
New Zealand has 36.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. United Arab Emirates has 29.9 as of 2023.
Economy
be 57.3% less likely to be unemployed
In New Zealand, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 2.2% as of 2025.
Life
be 57.1% 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 United Arab Emirates, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
have 11.0% fewer children
In New Zealand, there are approximately 11.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In United Arab Emirates, there are 9.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 25.3% less on education
New Zealand spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. United Arab Emirates spends 3.9% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 50.6% less on healthcare
New Zealand spends 10.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 5.0% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 91.3% less coastline
New Zealand has a total of 15,134 km of coastline. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 1,318 km.
Safety
be 52.7% less likely to be murdered
New Zealand has a homicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2022.
be 10.6% less likely to die in a road accident
In New Zealand, road accidents kill 6.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In United Arab Emirates, they kill 5.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
use 91.3% more electricity
New Zealand uses 7,989 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. United Arab Emirates uses 15,285 kWh as of 2023.
live with 187.6 times more strain on fresh water
New Zealand withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. United Arab Emirates withdraws 1510% as of 2022.
Environment
be 5.8 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 United Arab Emirates, it causes 70.0 as of 2019.
emit 3.0 times more CO2
New Zealand emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. United Arab Emirates emits 18.3 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: New Zealand vs. United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: At a glance
How big is United Arab Emirates compared to New Zealand? See an in-depth size comparison.