Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
New Zealand is 12% bigger than Ghana.
Ghana: 238,539 km² (2023) · New Zealand: 267,710 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
New Zealand’s coastline is 28 times as long as Ghana’s.
Ghana: 539 km (2026 edition) · New Zealand: 15,134 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Ghana’s highest peak towers 855 m above New Zealand’s.
Ghana: 885 m (2026 edition) · New Zealand: 30 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Ghana has 6.6 times as many people as New Zealand.
Ghana: 35.1 million (2025) · New Zealand: 5.32 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Ghana is 7.6 times as densely populated as New Zealand.
Ghana: 154 per km² (2025) · New Zealand: 20 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in New Zealand are 7.4 cm taller than in Ghana.
Ghana: 170.3 cm (2019) · New Zealand: 177.7 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in New Zealand are 5.8 cm taller than in Ghana.
Ghana: 158.9 cm (2019) · New Zealand: 164.7 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in New Zealand is 16 years older than in Ghana.
Ghana: 20.9 years (2023) · New Zealand: 37.3 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Ghana have 1.8 more children on average than in New Zealand.
Ghana: 3.34 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 3.8% in Ghana.
Ghana: 3.8% (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, Ghana 0.3.
Ghana: 0.3 (2025) · New Zealand: 5.6 (2025)
How many official languages?
New Zealand has 3 official languages, Ghana 1.
Ghana: 1 (2026) · New Zealand: 3 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
New Zealand’s economy is 2.3 times the size of Ghana’s.
Ghana: $114 billion (2025) · New Zealand: $264 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
New Zealand produces 6.7 times as much per person as Ghana.
Ghana: Int$8,610 (2025) · New Zealand: Int$57,350 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Ghana: 43.5 (2016) · New Zealand: no data
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 5.1% in New Zealand, versus 3.0% in Ghana.
Ghana: 3% (2025) · New Zealand: 5.1% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
New Zealand spends 1.2% of its GDP on the military, Ghana 0.4%.
Ghana: 0.4% (2024) · New Zealand: 1.2% (2024)
How expensive is it?
New Zealand’s price level (US = 100) is 2.3× Ghana’s.
Ghana: 38% (2025) · New Zealand: 86% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
New Zealand spends 71 times as much on health per person as Ghana.
Ghana: $70 (2023) · New Zealand: $5,022 (2024)
How long do people live?
People in New Zealand live 16 years longer than in Ghana.
Ghana: 65.7 years (2024) · New Zealand: 82 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Ghana is 6.9 times as likely to die before turning one as in New Zealand.
Ghana: 27.5 per 1,000 (2024) · New Zealand: 4 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
New Zealand has 14 times as many doctors per person as Ghana.
Ghana: 0.3 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 14% in Ghana.
Ghana: 13.8% (2024) · New Zealand: 34.7% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
9.3% of adults in New Zealand smoke, versus 3.3% in Ghana.
Ghana: 3.3% (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 2.44 points higher than in Ghana.
Ghana: 4.55 (2025) · New Zealand: 7.00 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in New Zealand drink 3.4 times as much alcohol as in Ghana.
Ghana: 2.6 litres (2023) · New Zealand: 8.9 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
New Zealand has 4.6 times as much meat per person as Ghana.
Ghana: 17.4 kg (2023) · New Zealand: 79.5 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Ghana and New Zealand are practically level.
Ghana: 3,125 kcal (2023) · New Zealand: 3,122 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in New Zealand put in 52 more hours a year than in Ghana.
Ghana: 1,656 hours (2023) · New Zealand: 1,708 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in New Zealand went to school 5.8 years longer than in Ghana.
Ghana: 7.1 years (2023) · New Zealand: 12.9 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
New Zealand welcomed 22 times as many tourists per resident as Ghana (2019).
Ghana: 0.03 (2022) · New Zealand: 0.6 (2024)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
94% of people in New Zealand are online, versus 72% in Ghana.
Ghana: 72% (2024) · New Zealand: 94% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in New Zealand have electricity, versus 92% in Ghana.
Ghana: 91.9% (2024) · New Zealand: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
84% of people in New Zealand live in cities, versus 59% in Ghana.
Ghana: 59% (2025) · New Zealand: 84% (2025)
How many phones per person?
New Zealand has 130 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ghana 114.
Ghana: 114 (2024) · New Zealand: 130 (2024)
How much railway is there?
New Zealand’s railway network is 4.4 times as long as Ghana’s.
Ghana: 947 km (2022) · New Zealand: 4,128 km (2018)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from New Zealand fly 225 times as many passengers per resident as those from Ghana.
Ghana: 0.01 (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 35% of Ghana.
Ghana: 35.2% (2023) · New Zealand: 37.8% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in New Zealand emits 10 times as much CO₂ as someone in Ghana.
Ghana: 0.6 t (2024) · New Zealand: 6.2 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
89% of New Zealand’s electricity is renewable, versus 36% in Ghana.
Ghana: 36.2% (2024) · New Zealand: 88.5% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Ghana carries 4 times as much fine dust as in New Zealand.
Ghana: 28.2 µg/m³ (2024) · New Zealand: 7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 25% more likely to be murdered in Ghana than in New Zealand.
Ghana: 1.8 per 100k (2022) · New Zealand: 1.5 per 100k (2022)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Ghana are 3.9 times as deadly as in New Zealand.
Ghana: 25.9 per 100k (2021) · New Zealand: 6.6 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Ghana is on average 16.9 °C warmer than New Zealand.
Ghana: 27.9°C (2016–2025 avg) · New Zealand: 11.1°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
New Zealand gets 43% more rain than Ghana.
Ghana: 1,118 mm (2016–2025 avg) · New Zealand: 1,596 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Ghana bigger than New Zealand?
New Zealand is larger. New Zealand is 12% bigger than Ghana.
Which has more people, Ghana or New Zealand?
Ghana has 6.6 times as many people as New Zealand (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Ghana or New Zealand?
People in New Zealand live 16 years longer than in Ghana. Life expectancy at birth is 65.7 years in Ghana and 82.0 in New Zealand.
Are people taller in Ghana or New Zealand?
Men in New Zealand are 7.4 cm taller than in Ghana (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
