Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in New Caledonia instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:

Economy

be 3.7 times more likely to be unemployed

In Saudi Arabia, 3.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In New Caledonia, that number is 11.2% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

make 15.4% less money

Saudi Arabia has a GDP per capita of $34,537 as of 2025, while in New Caledonia, the GDP per capita is $29,213 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Life

have 15.0% fewer children

In Saudi Arabia, there are approximately 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In New Caledonia, there are 14.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 18.0% less likely to have internet access

In Saudi Arabia, approximately 100.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In New Caledonia, about 82.0% do as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 14.6% less coastline

Saudi Arabia has a total of 2,640 km of coastline. In New Caledonia, that number is 2,254 km.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 56.0% less home broadband

Saudi Arabia has 44.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. New Caledonia has 19.4 as of 2022.

View global rankings →

Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this

Compare further: Saudi Arabia vs. New Caledonia

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
New Caledonia is 76.1% more expensive than Saudi Arabia overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Saudi Arabia is about 116 times bigger than New Caledonia.
→
Moving from Saudi Arabia to New Caledonia · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→

New Caledonia: At a glance

New Caledonia is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 18,275 sq km. Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island became a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s ended in the 1998 Noumea Accord, which over a period of 15 to 20 years will transfer an increasing amount of governing responsibility from France to New Caledonia. The agreement also commits France to conduct a referendum between 2014 and 2018 to decide whether New Caledonia should assume full sovereignty and independence.
Read more

How big is New Caledonia compared to Saudi Arabia? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about New Caledonia or Saudi Arabia. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.