Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
New Zealand fits inside Saudi Arabia 8 times
New Zealand: 267,710 km² (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 2,149,690 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
New Zealand’s coastline is 5.7 times as long as Saudi Arabia’s
New Zealand: 15,134 km (2026 edition) · Saudi Arabia: 2,640 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Saudi Arabia’s highest peak towers 2,970 m above New Zealand’s
New Zealand: 30 m (2026 edition) · Saudi Arabia: 3,000 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 82% of Saudi Arabia, versus 37% of New Zealand
New Zealand: 36.8% (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 81.7% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Saudi Arabia has 6.9 times as many people as New Zealand
New Zealand: 5.32 million (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 37 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
New Zealand is 18% more densely populated than Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 20 per km² (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 17 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in New Zealand are 7.1 cm taller than in Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 177.7 cm (2019) · Saudi Arabia: 170.7 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in New Zealand are 5.8 cm taller than in Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 164.7 cm (2019) · Saudi Arabia: 158.8 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in New Zealand is 8 years older than in Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 37.3 years (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 29.2 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Saudi Arabia have 0.7 more children on average than in New Zealand
New Zealand: 1.57 children per woman (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 2.31 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
18% of people in New Zealand are 65 or older, versus 3.1% in Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 17.6% (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 3.1% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
New Zealand hosts 33 times as many refugees per resident as Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 0.4 per 1,000 (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 0.012 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
New Zealand has produced 5.6 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Saudi Arabia none
New Zealand: 5.6 (2026) · Saudi Arabia: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
New Zealand has 3 official languages, Saudi Arabia 1
New Zealand: 3 (2026) · Saudi Arabia: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Saudi Arabia’s economy is 4.8 times the size of New Zealand’s
New Zealand: $264 billion (2025) · Saudi Arabia: $1.28 trillion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Saudi Arabia produces 29% more per person than New Zealand
New Zealand: Int$57,350 (2025) · Saudi Arabia: Int$73,784 (2025)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 5.1% in New Zealand, versus 3.0% in Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 5.1% (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 3% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Saudi Arabia spends 6.5% of its GDP on the military, New Zealand 1.1%
New Zealand: 1.1% (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 6.5% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
New Zealand’s central government collects 30% of GDP in tax, Saudi Arabia’s 8.1%
New Zealand: 29.5% (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 8.1% (2024)
How expensive is it?
New Zealand’s price level (US = 100) is 1.8× Saudi Arabia’s
New Zealand: 86% (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 47% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
New Zealand spends 2.8 times as much on health per person as Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: $5,022 (2024) · Saudi Arabia: $1,825 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in New Zealand live 3 years longer than in Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 82 years (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 79 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Saudi Arabia is 18% more likely to die before turning one than in New Zealand
New Zealand: 4 per 1,000 (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 4.7 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
New Zealand has 6% more doctors per person than Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 3.6 per 1,000 (2022) · Saudi Arabia: 3.4 per 1,000 (2023)
How many hospital beds are there?
New Zealand has 4% more hospital beds per person than Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 2.5 per 1,000 (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 2.4 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in New Zealand is 5.9 times that in Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 13 per 100k (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 2.2 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
39% of adults in Saudi Arabia are obese, versus 35% in New Zealand
New Zealand: 34.7% (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 39.2% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
15% of adults in Saudi Arabia smoke, versus 9.3% in New Zealand
New Zealand: 9.3% (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 14.7% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in New Zealand rate their lives 0.18 points higher than in Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 7.00 (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 6.82 (2025)
How much do people drink?
New Zealand: 8.9 litres (2023) · Saudi Arabia: no data
How much meat is on the menu?
New Zealand has 37% more meat per person than Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 79.5 kg (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 58.1 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Saudi Arabia has 538 kcal more food per person per day than New Zealand
New Zealand: 3,122 kcal (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 3,660 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Saudi Arabia put in 417 more hours a year than in New Zealand
New Zealand: 1,708 hours (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 2,125 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in New Zealand went to school 1.3 years longer than in Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 12.9 years (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 11.6 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Saudi Arabia welcomed 40% more tourists per resident than New Zealand (2019)
New Zealand: 0.6 (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 0.84 (2024)
How many World Heritage sites?
Saudi Arabia has 5 more World Heritage sites than New Zealand (8 against 3)
New Zealand: 3 (2026) · Saudi Arabia: 8 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
New Zealand has won 166 Olympic medals, Saudi Arabia 4
New Zealand: 166 (2026 edition) · Saudi Arabia: 4 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
100% of people in Saudi Arabia are online, versus 94% in New Zealand
New Zealand: 94% (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 100% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in New Zealand is 38% faster than in Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 272 Mbps (2026) · Saudi Arabia: 196 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
New Zealand and Saudi Arabia are practically level
New Zealand: 100% (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
85% of people in Saudi Arabia live in cities, versus 84% in New Zealand
New Zealand: 84% (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 85% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Saudi Arabia has 160 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, New Zealand 130
New Zealand: 130 (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 160 (2024)
How much railway is there?
New Zealand’s railway network is 40% longer than Saudi Arabia’s
New Zealand: 4,128 km (2018) · Saudi Arabia: 2,939 km (2018)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from New Zealand fly 2.2 times as many passengers per resident as those from Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 2.82 (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 1.3 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 39% of New Zealand, but only 1.3% of Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 38.9% (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 1.3% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Saudi Arabia emits 3.3 times as much CO₂ as someone in New Zealand
New Zealand: 6.2 t (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 20.4 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
89% of New Zealand’s electricity is renewable, versus 2.2% in Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 88.5% (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 2.2% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in Saudi Arabia carries 7.2 times as much fine dust as in New Zealand
New Zealand: 7 µg/m³ (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 50.4 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 56% more likely to be murdered in New Zealand than in Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 1.5 per 100k (2022) · Saudi Arabia: 0.9 per 100k (2019)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Saudi Arabia are 2 times as deadly as in New Zealand
New Zealand: 10.9 per 100k (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 21.4 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Saudi Arabia is on average 15.7 °C warmer than New Zealand
New Zealand: 11.1°C (2016–2025 avg) · Saudi Arabia: 26.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
New Zealand gets 26 times as much rain as Saudi Arabia
New Zealand: 1,596 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Saudi Arabia: 61 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is New Zealand bigger than Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia is larger. New Zealand fits inside Saudi Arabia 8 times.
Which has more people, New Zealand or Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia has 6.9 times as many people as New Zealand (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, New Zealand or Saudi Arabia?
People in New Zealand live 3 years longer than in Saudi Arabia. Life expectancy at birth is 82.0 years in New Zealand and 79.0 in Saudi Arabia.
Are people taller in New Zealand or Saudi Arabia?
Men in New Zealand are 7.1 cm taller than in Saudi Arabia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
