Here on Canada’s west coast, we sometimes hear about New Zealand, though perhaps not so much as in the 90s. \u00a0Neither here, nor there, has staged the dramatic global changes of the past twenty years.<\/p>\n
When we do hear about New Zealand, we receive the impression that it’s a green, peaceful place, a bit removed from the world’s bustle. \u00a0Vancouver Island could be described much the same.<\/p>\n
If we wanted to go a bit deeper, where would we start? \u00a0I’ve decided to start with the people.<\/p>\n
Looking at developed countries nowadays, one statistic of particular interest is the total fertility rate, which is the number of children born per woman. \u00a0New Zealand’s (2.05 children per woman) is much higher than Canada’s (1.59). \u00a0The rate needed to maintain a stable population is 2.1. (globalmail.org)<\/a>.<\/p>\n Connected to the fertility rate, New Zealand’s population growth rate is 0.83%, compared to Canada’s 0.76%. Canada’s population is older as well, with a median age of 41.7, compared with New Zealand’s 37.6. With an older population, Canada’s higher death rate of 8.31 per thousand, versus New Zealand’s 7.3, might not be surprising.<\/p>\n On the health and education front, both countries have a 99% literacy rate. Beyond that, New Zealand likely has a better educated population. Their education expenditure is 7.4% of GDP vs Canada’s 5.4%. Furthermore, a New Zealander is expected to spend about 19 years in school over their lifetime, while a Canadian is expected to spend only 16.<\/p>\n I was a little surprised to learn that Canada’s adult obesity rate is lower than New Zealand’s, at 26.2% compared to 28.3%. Furthermore, while Canada’s education expenditure is lower, its health expenditure is higher: 11.2% of GDP compared to New Zealand’s 10.1%.<\/p>\n I’ll be exploring more comparisons between New Zealand and Canada in future posts:)<\/p>\n Source:<\/p>\n CIA World Factbook<\/em>: <\/p>\n New Zealand<\/a> and Canada<\/a><\/p>\n