Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
New Zealand fits inside Ethiopia 4.2 times.
Ethiopia: 1,136,240 km² (2023) · New Zealand: 267,710 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Ethiopia: 0 km (2026 edition) · New Zealand: 15,134 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Ethiopia’s highest peak towers 4,520 m above New Zealand’s.
Ethiopia: 4,550 m (2026 edition) · New Zealand: 30 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Ethiopia has 25 times as many people as New Zealand.
Ethiopia: 135 million (2025) · New Zealand: 5.32 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Ethiopia is 5.9 times as densely populated as New Zealand.
Ethiopia: 120 per km² (2025) · New Zealand: 20 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in New Zealand are 8.9 cm taller than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 168.8 cm (2019) · New Zealand: 177.7 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in New Zealand are 7.5 cm taller than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 157.2 cm (2019) · New Zealand: 164.7 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in New Zealand is 19 years older than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 18.7 years (2023) · New Zealand: 37.3 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Ethiopia have 2.3 more children on average than in New Zealand.
Ethiopia: 3.91 children per woman (2024) · New Zealand: 1.57 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
18% of people in New Zealand are 65 or older, versus 3.3% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 3.3% (2025) · New Zealand: 17.6% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
New Zealand has produced 5.6 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Ethiopia 0.1.
Ethiopia: 0.1 (2025) · New Zealand: 5.6 (2025)
How many official languages?
New Zealand has 3 official languages, Ethiopia 1.
Ethiopia: 1 (2026) · New Zealand: 3 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
New Zealand’s economy is 2.1 times the size of Ethiopia’s.
Ethiopia: $126 billion (2025) · New Zealand: $264 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
New Zealand produces 16 times as much per person as Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: Int$3,622 (2025) · New Zealand: Int$57,350 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Ethiopia: 31.1 (2021) · New Zealand: no data
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 5.1% in New Zealand, versus 3.3% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 3.3% (2025) · New Zealand: 5.1% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
New Zealand spends 1.2% of its GDP on the military, Ethiopia 0.7%.
Ethiopia: 0.7% (2024) · New Zealand: 1.2% (2024)
How expensive is it?
New Zealand’s price level (US = 100) is 3.4× Ethiopia’s.
Ethiopia: 26% (2025) · New Zealand: 86% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
New Zealand spends 144 times as much on health per person as Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: $35 (2023) · New Zealand: $5,022 (2024)
How long do people live?
People in New Zealand live 14 years longer than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 67.6 years (2024) · New Zealand: 82 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Ethiopia is 8.6 times as likely to die before turning one as in New Zealand.
Ethiopia: 34.5 per 1,000 (2024) · New Zealand: 4 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
New Zealand has 25 times as many doctors per person as Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 0.1 per 1,000 (2023) · New Zealand: 3.6 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is obesity?
35% of adults in New Zealand are obese, versus 2.5% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 2.5% (2024) · New Zealand: 34.7% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
9.3% of adults in New Zealand smoke, versus 5.2% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 5.2% (2024) · New Zealand: 9.3% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in New Zealand rate their lives 3.01 points higher than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 3.99 (2025) · New Zealand: 7.00 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in New Zealand drink 3.9 times as much alcohol as in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 2.3 litres (2023) · New Zealand: 8.9 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
New Zealand has 12 times as much meat per person as Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 6.9 kg (2023) · New Zealand: 79.5 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
New Zealand has 563 kcal more food per person per day than Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 2,558 kcal (2023) · New Zealand: 3,122 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in New Zealand put in 108 more hours a year than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 1,599 hours (2023) · New Zealand: 1,708 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in New Zealand went to school 10 years longer than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 2.4 years (2023) · New Zealand: 12.9 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
New Zealand welcomed 148 times as many tourists per resident as Ethiopia (2019).
Ethiopia: 0 (2024) · New Zealand: 0.6 (2024)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
94% of people in New Zealand are online, versus 22% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 22% (2024) · New Zealand: 94% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in New Zealand have electricity, versus 57% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 56.6% (2024) · New Zealand: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
84% of people in New Zealand live in cities, versus 24% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 24% (2025) · New Zealand: 84% (2025)
How many phones per person?
New Zealand has 130 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ethiopia 65.
Ethiopia: 65 (2024) · New Zealand: 130 (2024)
How much railway is there?
New Zealand’s railway network is 5.5 times as long as Ethiopia’s.
Ethiopia: 754 km (2018) · New Zealand: 4,128 km (2018)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from New Zealand fly 25 times as many passengers per resident as those from Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 0.11 (2023) · New Zealand: 2.82 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 38% of New Zealand, but only 15% of Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 14.9% (2023) · New Zealand: 37.8% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in New Zealand emits 46 times as much CO₂ as someone in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 0.1 t (2024) · New Zealand: 6.2 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
100% of Ethiopia’s electricity is renewable, versus 89% in New Zealand.
Ethiopia: 100% (2025) · New Zealand: 88.5% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Ethiopia carries 2.9 times as much fine dust as in New Zealand.
Ethiopia: 20.2 µg/m³ (2024) · New Zealand: 7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
Ethiopia: no data · New Zealand: 1.5 per 100k (2022)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Ethiopia are 2.7 times as deadly as in New Zealand.
Ethiopia: 17.7 per 100k (2021) · New Zealand: 6.6 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Ethiopia is on average 12.8 °C warmer than New Zealand.
Ethiopia: 23.9°C (2016–2025 avg) · New Zealand: 11.1°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
New Zealand gets 66% more rain than Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 962 mm (2016–2025 avg) · New Zealand: 1,596 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Ethiopia bigger than New Zealand?
Ethiopia is larger. New Zealand fits inside Ethiopia 4.2 times.
Which has more people, Ethiopia or New Zealand?
Ethiopia has 25 times as many people as New Zealand (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Ethiopia or New Zealand?
People in New Zealand live 14 years longer than in Ethiopia. Life expectancy at birth is 67.6 years in Ethiopia and 82.0 in New Zealand.
Are people taller in Ethiopia or New Zealand?
Men in New Zealand are 8.9 cm taller than in Ethiopia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
