CountryDuel

Land

Size, shape and altitude

Total area

How big is it, really?

Japan is 41% bigger than New Zealand

Japan: 377,975 km² (2024) · New Zealand: 267,710 km² (2024)

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Coastline

How much coast is there?

Japan’s coastline is 2 times as long as New Zealand’s

Japan: 29,751 km (2026 edition) · New Zealand: 15,134 km (2026 edition)

Highest point

How high can you climb?

Japan’s highest peak towers 3,746 m above New Zealand’s

Japan: 3,776 m (2026 edition) · New Zealand: 30 m (2026 edition)

Farmland

How much of the land is farmed?

Farmland covers 37% of New Zealand, versus 13% of Japan

Japan: 12.6% (2024) · New Zealand: 36.8% (2024)

How far apart are they?

People

Who lives there, and how closely

Population

How many people live there?

Japan has 23 times as many people as New Zealand

Japan: 123 million (2025) · New Zealand: 5.32 million (2025)

Population density

How crowded is it?

Japan is 17 times as densely populated as New Zealand

Japan: 338 per km² (2025) · New Zealand: 20 per km² (2025)

Height of men

How tall are the men?

Men in New Zealand are 5.7 cm taller than in Japan

Japan: 172.1 cm (2019) · New Zealand: 177.7 cm (2019)

Height of women

How tall are the women?

Women in New Zealand are 6.2 cm taller than in Japan

Japan: 158.5 cm (2019) · New Zealand: 164.7 cm (2019)

Median age

How old is the typical person?

The typical person in Japan is 12 years older than in New Zealand

Japan: 49 years (2023) · New Zealand: 37.3 years (2023)

Fertility rate

How many children per woman?

Women in New Zealand have 0.4 more children on average than in Japan

Japan: 1.15 children per woman (2024) · New Zealand: 1.57 children per woman (2024)

Aged 65 and over

How many people are 65 or older?

30% of people in Japan are 65 or older, versus 18% in New Zealand

Japan: 30% (2025) · New Zealand: 17.6% (2025)

Refugees hosted per 1,000 residents

How many refugees does it host?

New Zealand hosts 17% more refugees per resident than Japan

Japan: 0.3 per 1,000 (2025) · New Zealand: 0.4 per 1,000 (2025)

Nobel laureates per 10 million people

How many Nobel laureates were born there?

New Zealand has produced 5.6 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Japan 2.5

Japan: 2.5 (2026) · New Zealand: 5.6 (2026)

Official languages

How many official languages?

New Zealand has 3 official languages, Japan 1

Japan: 1 (2026) · New Zealand: 3 (2026)

What shape is the population?

Money

What an economy looks like per person

Economy size (GDP)

How big is the economy?

Japan’s economy is 17 times the size of New Zealand’s

Japan: $4.44 trillion (2025) · New Zealand: $264 billion (2025)

GDP per person (PPP)

How much is produced per person?

New Zealand produces 3% more per person than Japan

Japan: Int$55,422 (2025) · New Zealand: Int$57,350 (2025)

Income inequality (Gini)

How evenly is income shared?

Japan: 32.3 (2020) · New Zealand: no data

Extreme poverty ($3.00 a day)

How many live on less than $3 a day?

Japan: 1.2% (2020) · New Zealand: no data

Unemployment

How many people are looking for work?

Unemployment is 5.1% in New Zealand, versus 2.5% in Japan

Japan: 2.5% (2025) · New Zealand: 5.1% (2025)

Military spending

How much goes to the military?

Japan and New Zealand are practically level

Japan: 1.4% (2025) · New Zealand: 1.1% (2025)

Tax revenue (central government)

How much does the central government collect in tax?

Japan: no data · New Zealand: 29.5% (2024)

Price level (US = 100)

How expensive is it?

New Zealand’s price level (US = 100) is 1.3× Japan’s

Japan: 65% (2025) · New Zealand: 86% (2025)

Health

Long lives, small beginnings

Health spending per person

How much is spent on health?

New Zealand spends 38% more on health per person than Japan

Japan: $3,638 (2023) · New Zealand: $5,022 (2024)

Life expectancy

How long do people live?

People in Japan live 2 years longer than in New Zealand

Japan: 84 years (2024) · New Zealand: 82 years (2024)

Infant mortality

How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?

A baby in New Zealand is 2.2 times as likely to die before turning one as in Japan

Japan: 1.8 per 1,000 (2024) · New Zealand: 4 per 1,000 (2024)

Doctors

How many doctors are there?

New Zealand has 36% more doctors per person than Japan

Japan: 2.6 per 1,000 (2022) · New Zealand: 3.6 per 1,000 (2022)

Hospital beds

How many hospital beds are there?

Japan has 5 times as many hospital beds per person as New Zealand

Japan: 12.6 per 1,000 (2022) · New Zealand: 2.5 per 1,000 (2023)

Suicide rate

How common is suicide?

The suicide rate in Japan is 11% higher than in New Zealand

Japan: 14.4 per 100k (2023) · New Zealand: 13 per 100k (2023)

Adult obesity

How common is obesity?

35% of adults in New Zealand are obese, versus 5.2% in Japan

Japan: 5.2% (2024) · New Zealand: 34.7% (2024)

Smoking

How many adults smoke?

18% of adults in Japan smoke, versus 9.3% in New Zealand

Japan: 17.5% (2024) · New Zealand: 9.3% (2024)

Everyday life

Plates, glasses and happiness

Life satisfaction

How do people rate their lives?

People in New Zealand rate their lives 0.87 points higher than in Japan

Japan: 6.13 (2025) · New Zealand: 7.00 (2025)

Alcohol consumption

How much do people drink?

Adults in New Zealand drink 41% more alcohol than in Japan

Japan: 6.3 litres (2023) · New Zealand: 8.9 litres (2023)

Meat supply

How much meat is on the menu?

New Zealand has 33% more meat per person than Japan

Japan: 59.9 kg (2022) · New Zealand: 79.5 kg (2023)

Daily calories

How much food is there per day?

New Zealand has 451 kcal more food per person per day than Japan

Japan: 2,670 kcal (2022) · New Zealand: 3,122 kcal (2023)

Working hours

How long do people work?

Workers in New Zealand put in 54 more hours a year than in Japan

Japan: 1,654 hours (2023) · New Zealand: 1,708 hours (2023)

Years of schooling

How long do people go to school?

Adults in New Zealand went to school 0.2 years longer than in Japan

Japan: 12.7 years (2023) · New Zealand: 12.9 years (2023)

Tourists per resident

How many tourists visit?

New Zealand welcomed 2 times as many tourists per resident as Japan (2019)

Japan: 0.3 (2024) · New Zealand: 0.6 (2024)

World Heritage sites

How many World Heritage sites?

Japan has 24 more World Heritage sites than New Zealand (27 against 3)

Japan: 27 (2026) · New Zealand: 3 (2026)

Olympic medals (all time)

How many Olympic medals has it won?

Japan has won 642 Olympic medals, New Zealand 166

Japan: 642 (2026 edition) · New Zealand: 166 (2026 edition)

Connected

Online, electrified, urban

Internet users

How many people are online?

94% of people in New Zealand are online, versus 86% in Japan

Japan: 86% (2024) · New Zealand: 94% (2024)

Fixed broadband download speed

How fast is home internet?

Home internet in Japan is 19% faster than in New Zealand

Japan: 322 Mbps (2026) · New Zealand: 272 Mbps (2026)

Access to electricity

Who has electricity at home?

Japan and New Zealand are practically level

Japan: 100% (2024) · New Zealand: 100% (2024)

Urban population

How many live in cities?

92% of people in Japan live in cities, versus 84% in New Zealand

Japan: 92% (2025) · New Zealand: 84% (2025)

Mobile subscriptions

How many phones per person?

Japan has 178 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, New Zealand 130

Japan: 178 (2023) · New Zealand: 130 (2024)

Railway network

How much railway is there?

Japan’s railway network is 4.9 times as long as New Zealand’s

Japan: 20,087 km (2011) · New Zealand: 4,128 km (2018)

Air passengers per resident

How much do they fly?

Airlines from New Zealand fly 2.9 times as many passengers per resident as those from Japan

Japan: 0.98 (2023) · New Zealand: 2.82 (2023)

Planet

Air, forests and energy

Forest cover

How much of the land is forest?

Forest covers 68% of Japan, but only 39% of New Zealand

Japan: 68.3% (2024) · New Zealand: 38.9% (2024)

CO₂ per person

How much CO₂ does each person emit?

The average person in Japan emits 25% more CO₂ than someone in New Zealand

Japan: 7.8 t (2024) · New Zealand: 6.2 t (2024)

Renewable electricity

How green is the power grid?

89% of New Zealand’s electricity is renewable, versus 24% in Japan

Japan: 23.6% (2025) · New Zealand: 88.5% (2025)

Air pollution (PM2.5)

How clean is the air?

The air in Japan carries 50% more fine dust than in New Zealand

Japan: 10.5 µg/m³ (2024) · New Zealand: 7 µg/m³ (2024)

Where does the power come from?

Safety

Measured risk, not vibes

Homicide rate

How common is murder?

You are 6.4 times as likely to be murdered in New Zealand as in Japan

Japan: 0.2 per 100k (2023) · New Zealand: 1.5 per 100k (2022)

Road deaths

How dangerous are the roads?

Roads in New Zealand are 2.9 times as deadly as in Japan

Japan: 3.8 per 100k (2023) · New Zealand: 10.9 per 100k (2023)

Climate

What the year feels like

Average temperature

How warm is it?

Japan is on average 1.7 °C warmer than New Zealand

Japan: 12.8°C (2016–2025 avg) · New Zealand: 11.1°C (2016–2025 avg)

Rainfall

How much rain falls?

Japan gets 14% more rain than New Zealand

Japan: 1,824 mm (2016–2025 avg) · New Zealand: 1,596 mm (2016–2025 avg)

What does the year feel like?

Between them

People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other

Who has moved between them?
Can they visit without a visa?
What do they sell each other?
Have they met on the pitch?
Time machine

Quick answers

Is Japan bigger than New Zealand?

Japan is larger. Japan is 41% bigger than New Zealand.

Which has more people, Japan or New Zealand?

Japan has 23 times as many people as New Zealand (2025 estimates).

Where do people live longer, Japan or New Zealand?

People in Japan live 2 years longer than in New Zealand. Life expectancy at birth is 84.0 years in Japan and 82.0 in New Zealand.

Are people taller in Japan or New Zealand?

Men in New Zealand are 5.7 cm taller than in Japan (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).

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