Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in New Zealand instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Health

live 2.9 years longer

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In New Zealand, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2022.

be 19.8% more likely to be obese

In Costa Rica, 25.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In New Zealand, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 2.0 times more money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $22,100 as of 2022, while in New Zealand, the GDP per capita is $45,200 as of 2022.

be 70.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 11.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In New Zealand, that number is 3.3% as of 2022.

pay a 2.2 times higher top tax rate

Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In New Zealand, the top tax rate is 33.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 68.2% less likely to die during childbirth

In Costa Rica, approximately 22.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In New Zealand, 7.0 women do as of 2020.

be 59.0% less likely to die during infancy

In Costa Rica, approximately 8.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In New Zealand, on the other hand, 3.4 children do as of 2022.

have 16.7% more children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In New Zealand, there are 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 15.7% more likely to have internet access

In Costa Rica, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In New Zealand, about 96.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 10.4% less on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. New Zealand spends 6.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 26.6% more on healthcare

Costa Rica spends 7.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In New Zealand, that number is 10.0% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 11.7 times more coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In New Zealand, that number is 15,134 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, New Zealand Inland Revenue Department, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.

New Zealand: At a glance

New Zealand (sometimes abbreviated NZ) is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 264,537 sq km. The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. That same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both world wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.
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How big is New Zealand compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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