🇳🇿 New Zealand vs 🇵🇭 Philippines
Side by side on the data that actually changes your life: prices, taxes, climate, air, safety. Every number has a source and a date.
Climate (capital)
Open-Meteo historical weather
Jan 16° · Jul 11° · Wellington
—
Sunny days (capital)
Open-Meteo, days with over 4.5h of sunshine
316 days / yr
—
Big Mac price
The Economist Big Mac index (euro-area countries share one euro-area price)
$4.94
$2.84
Special tax regimes
Official tax authorities, verified June 2026
Transitional resident exemption
None curated
Inflation
World Bank
2.8% / yr (2025)
1.7% / yr (2025)
Unemployment
World Bank, ILO-modelled estimate
5.1% (2025)
2.2% (2025)
Internet (median fixed)
Ookla Speedtest Global Index
—
~95 Mbps
English proficiency
EF English Proficiency Index
—
high
Messenger apps
OONI network measurements, last 6 months
No known issues
Issues: Facebook Messenger
Safety advisory
U.S. State Department travel advisory
Level 1 · Exercise Normal Precautions
—
Population
World Bank total population
5.3M (2025)
116.8M (2025)
Population density
World Bank, people per km²
20 / km² (2023)
385 / km² (2023)
Foreign-born residents
World Bank migrant stock
28.2% of population (2024)
0.1% of population (2024)
Life expectancy
WHO
82 yrs
66 yrs
Currency
ISO 4217
NZD
PHP
Legal
Legal
Short-term gains
39%
15%
Long-term gains
10.5%
15%
Long-term holding period
—
—
Staking income
39%
32%
Mining income
—
35%
General rates, not personal tax advice.
Climate, inflation and life expectancy verified 12 July 2026. Prices, taxes and air quality verified 7 July 2026. Sources shown per row.
Bottom line: which should you choose?
Pick 🇵🇭 Philippines if you want
lower day-to-day costs.
Based only on the sourced metrics above. Visa eligibility and paperwork depend on your passport — build a free plan for the full picture.
Frequently asked questions
Is New Zealand or Philippines cheaper?
Philippines is the cheaper of the two on our comparable cost measure (Big Mac $2.84 vs $4.94). Your real cost depends on the city and lifestyle — see the full table above, then generate a free plan for a budget matched to your exact move.
Special tax regimes, verified
Regimes change often and many sites still advertise closed ones. We link the official source for each.
🇳🇿 New Zealand
Most foreign income tax-free for ~4 years
Verified June 2026 · Inland Revenue
Numbers are half the story
Your visa route, paperwork and deadlines depend on where you hold a passport. Get a free checklist personalized to your exact move.