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Points Frog guide

Japan vs New Zealand

New Zealand's GDP per person at PPP is 1.03 times Japan's, and a dollar goes 33% further in Japan.

Compare two countries

A UN member state, or a continent's average.

The page updates.

In US dollars, spent in each country.

$100 spent in Japan buys about what

$133

buys in New Zealand, at purchasing power parity

And $100 in New Zealand buys what $75.02 buys in Japan. Prices across Japan's economy average 75% of New Zealand's, so a dollar goes 33% further in Japan.

World Bank figures for 2025 unless another year is shown
MeasureJapanNew Zealand
Economy
Population123.4 million5.32 million
GDPUS dollars, market exchange rates$4.44 trillion$264 billion
GDP per personUS dollars$35,951$49,591
GDP per person at PPPInternational dollars$55,422$57,350
Prices
Price levelUS prices = 100%65%86%
A US dollar goes as far as$1.54 in the US$1.16 in the US
Income
Median income or consumptionPer person, international dollars$42.17 a day2020 survey · $15,392 a year · incomeNo recent data
More figures: GDP at PPP, conversion factor and GNI
Gross national income is what residents earn, at home and abroad
MeasureJapanNew Zealand
GDP at PPPInternational dollars$6.84 trillion$305 billion
PPP conversion factorLocal currency per international dollar97.08Japanese yen1.473New Zealand dollar
GNI per person, Atlas methodUS dollars$38,340$46,630
GNI per person at PPPInternational dollars$58,920$53,600

World Bank income groups: Japan, high income; New Zealand, high income.

GDP per person at PPP · 2000 to 2025, in constant 2021 international dollarsAdjusted for inflation, so recent years read lower than the current-dollar figures above.
  • Japan
  • New Zealand
Year-by-year table
YearJapanNew Zealand
2025$48,283$48,233
2024$47,480$48,325
2023$47,387$49,593
2022$46,819$49,843
2021$45,999$48,202
2020$44,213$46,326
2019$46,055$47,392
2018$46,133$46,975
2017$45,693$46,286
2016$44,927$45,746
2015$44,589$45,097
2014$43,754$44,370
2013$43,304$43,453
2012$42,395$42,693
2011$41,641$41,962
2010$41,647$41,395
2009$40,000$41,251
2008$42,519$41,682
2007$43,042$42,473
2006$42,359$41,597
2005$41,740$40,970
2004$40,987$40,091
2003$40,152$39,092
2002$39,690$38,072
2001$39,749$36,995
2000$39,732$35,985

World Bank figures, updated October 8, 2026. An educational estimate, not financial advice.

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Japan vs New Zealand: questions

Is Japan richer than New Zealand?

Japan's GDP per person at purchasing power parity was $55,422 in 2025, 97% of New Zealand's $57,350, so New Zealand is the richer of the two by this measure. At market exchange rates, GDP per person was $35,951 in Japan and $49,591 in New Zealand. Japan ranks 38th and New Zealand 35th of the 186 countries with figures.

How far does a dollar go in Japan compared with New Zealand?

Prices across Japan's economy averaged 75% of New Zealand's in 2025, so $100 spent in Japan buys about what $133 buys in New Zealand, and a dollar goes 33% further in Japan. Against the United States, prices averaged 65% of US prices in Japan and 86% in New Zealand. The World Bank's PPP conversion factor was 97.08 (Japanese yen) per international dollar in Japan and 1.473 (New Zealand dollar) in New Zealand.

How big is Japan's economy compared with New Zealand's?

In 2025, Japan's GDP was $4.44 trillion at market exchange rates and $6.84 trillion at PPP; New Zealand's GDP was $264 billion at market exchange rates and $305 billion at PPP. At market rates Japan's economy is 17 times New Zealand's, and at PPP 22 times. Japan has 123.4 million people and New Zealand 5.32 million.

Do people earn more in Japan or New Zealand?

In 2025, gross national income per person by the World Bank's Atlas method was $38,340 in Japan and $46,630 in New Zealand; at PPP it was $58,920 and $53,600. The World Bank classes both as high income. In household surveys, the median person's income was $42.17 a day ($15,392 a year) in Japan, from a 2020 survey of income, in 2021 international dollars. The World Bank has no recent survey median for New Zealand.

How has GDP per person changed since 2000?

After inflation, GDP per person at PPP grew 22% in Japan from 2000 to 2025, 0.8% a year, and grew 34% in New Zealand, 1.2% a year. Japan's was 1.10 times New Zealand's in 2000 and 1.00 times in 2025.

What is purchasing power parity (PPP)?

A rate that converts money between countries by what it buys rather than by the exchange rate. An international dollar buys in any country what a US dollar buys in the United States. The World Bank's International Comparison Program prices the same goods and services around the world to set these rates, so GDP at PPP compares how much economies actually produce, without exchange rate swings or price gaps.

What's the difference between GDP and GNI?

GDP is the value of everything produced inside a country. GNI, gross national income, adds income residents earn abroad and takes away income sent to foreign owners and workers. They differ most where foreign companies or workers take a large share, as in Ireland or Luxembourg, so GNI per person is closer to what a country's residents earn.

What is the World Bank Atlas method?

A way of converting GNI to US dollars that averages a country's exchange rate over three years, adjusted for inflation, so one year's currency swing doesn't jump it from one income group to another. The World Bank uses it to sort countries into low, lower-middle, upper-middle and high income each July.

Why is the median income missing or old for some countries?

Median income or consumption comes from household surveys, which most countries run every few years and some haven't run in a long time. Many lower-income countries measure what households spend rather than what they earn. This page shows the latest survey from the past 15 years in the World Bank's Poverty and Inequality Platform, with its year, and says when there isn't one.

Where do these figures come from?

From the World Bank's World Development Indicators, last updated October 8, 2026, with figures through 2025, and median income or consumption from its Poverty and Inequality Platform (September 22, 2026 release). Each figure is the latest the World Bank has for that country, from 2015 on; an older one is left out. The IMF publishes its own estimates, which usually differ by a few percent.

Is this comparison financial advice?

No. It's an educational comparison of official statistics. A country's average price level covers its whole economy, so your own costs in either place depend on where you live and what you buy.

How does the comparison work?