---
title: "China vs New Zealand — area, population, currency"
description: "China is 9,596,960 km² with 1,406,585,000 people; New Zealand is 268,838 km² with 5,324,700. Area, density, currency, languages and time zones side by side."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-new-zealand/
site: "At One Place"
---

# China vs New Zealand

**China vs New Zealand: China is larger; China has more people**

9,596,960 km² vs 268,838 km² · 1,406,585,000 vs 5,324,700

China is 36 times larger than New Zealand — 9,596,960 against 268,838 km². China is 264 times more populous than New Zealand — 1,406,585,000 against 5,324,700 people.

## Side by side

|  | China | New Zealand |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Beijing | Wellington |
| Area | 9,596,960 km² | 268,838 km² |
| Population | 1,406,585,000 (2025) | 5,324,700 (2025) |
| Density | 146.6 /km² | 19.8 /km² |
| Currency | Chinese yuan (CNY) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
| Official languages | Standard Chinese | English, Māori, New Zealand Sign Language |
| Time zones | UTC+08:00 | UTC+12:00, UTC+12:45 |
| Calling code | +86 | +64 |
| Drives on the | right | left |
| Continent | Asia | Oceania |
| ISO codes | CN / CHN | NZ / NZL |

## Population density

China is 7.4 times more densely populated than New Zealand — 147 against 20 people per km². Density is where area and population interact, and it often reverses the impression the headline figures give — a large country with a small population can feel emptier than a small crowded one by an enormous margin.

## Practical differences

- They drive on opposite sides — China on the right, New Zealand on the left.
- Different currencies: the Chinese yuan and the New Zealand dollar.
- New Zealand spans 2 time zones, so "local time" there is not a single answer.
- Different continents — Asia and Oceania.

## China

The largest country in the world using a single time zone, so the sun rises in the far west around three hours later by the clock than in Beijing. China has a land border with fourteen countries — more than any other state except Russia, which also has fourteen. Its terrain runs from Mount Everest on the Nepalese border to the Turpan Depression at 154 m below sea level.

## New Zealand

Two main islands and around 600 smaller ones, roughly 1,600 km long. New Zealand broke away from Gondwana about 80 million years ago and had no land mammals except bats until people arrived, which is why so many of its birds are flightless. The Southern Alps run most of the South Island and reach 3,724 m at Aoraki / Mount Cook.

> Neutral facts only. Nothing here addresses politics, government, economics or which country is preferable in any respect — population is the one figure that dates, and it carries its year.

## Common questions

### Is China bigger than New Zealand?

China is larger — 9,596,960 km² against 268,838 km².

### Which has more people, China or New Zealand?

China, with 1,406,585,000 against 5,324,700.

### What is the time difference between China and New Zealand?

China is UTC+08:00 and New Zealand is UTC+12:00, UTC+12:45. Daylight saving shifts the gap during the year in places that observe it.

## Related pages

- [China](https://atoneplace.net/country/china/)
- [New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country/new-zealand/)
- [India vs New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-new-zealand/)
- [China vs United States](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-united-states/)
- [China vs India](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-india/)
- [China vs United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-united-kingdom/)
- [China vs Japan](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-japan/)
- [China vs France](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-france/)
- [China vs Germany](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-germany/)
- [China vs Italy](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-italy/)
- [China vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-russia/)
- [China vs Mexico](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-mexico/)
- [China vs Spain](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-spain/)
- [China vs Egypt](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-egypt/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]