Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in New Zealand instead of South Korea, you would:

Health

be 6.6 times more likely to be obese

In South Korea, 4.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In New Zealand, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2016.

Economy

pay a 13.2% lower top tax rate

South Korea has a top tax rate of 38.0% as of 2016. In New Zealand, the top tax rate is 33.0% as of 2016.

be 15.4% more likely to be unemployed

In South Korea, 2.9% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In New Zealand, that number is 3.3% as of 2022.

Life

have 82.1% more children

In South Korea, there are approximately 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In New Zealand, there are 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 19.9% more likely to die during infancy

In South Korea, approximately 2.9 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.

Expenditures

spend 27.7% more on education

South Korea spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. New Zealand spends 6.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 19.0% more on healthcare

South Korea spends 8.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In New Zealand, that number is 10.0% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 6.3 times more coastline

South Korea has a total of 2,413 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, National Tax Service, South Korea, New Zealand Inland Revenue Department.

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 South Korea? See an in-depth size comparison.

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