---
title: "New Zealand vs Panama — area, population, currency"
description: "New Zealand is 268,838 km² with 5,324,700 people; Panama is 75,420 km² with 4,571,189. Area, density, currency, languages and time zones side by side."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/new-zealand-vs-panama/
site: "At One Place"
---

# New Zealand vs Panama

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

268,838 km² vs 75,420 km² · 5,324,700 vs 4,571,189

New Zealand is 3.6 times larger than Panama — 268,838 against 75,420 km². New Zealand is 1.2 times more populous than Panama — 5,324,700 against 4,571,189 people.

## Side by side

|  | New Zealand | Panama |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Wellington | Panama City |
| Area | 268,838 km² | 75,420 km² |
| Population | 5,324,700 (2025) | 4,571,189 (2025) |
| Density | 19.8 /km² | 60.6 /km² |
| Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | Panamanian balboa (PAB) |
| Official languages | English, Māori, New Zealand Sign Language | Spanish |
| Time zones | UTC+12:00, UTC+12:45 | UTC-05:00 |
| Calling code | +64 | +507 |
| Drives on the | left | right |
| Continent | Oceania | North America |
| ISO codes | NZ / NZL | PA / PAN |

## Population density

Panama is 3.1 times more densely populated than New Zealand — 61 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 — New Zealand on the left, Panama on the right.
- Different currencies: the New Zealand dollar and the Panamanian balboa.
- New Zealand spans 2 time zones, so "local time" there is not a single answer.
- Different continents — Oceania and North America.

## 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.

## Panama

The canal is 82 km long and lifts ships 26 m up to Gatún Lake and back down, using gravity-fed fresh water rather than pumps. Because the isthmus curves, a ship going from the Atlantic to the Pacific travels roughly south-east. The Darién Gap is the only break in the 30,000 km Pan-American Highway.

> 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 New Zealand bigger than Panama?

New Zealand is larger — 268,838 km² against 75,420 km².

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

New Zealand, with 5,324,700 against 4,571,189.

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

New Zealand is UTC+12:00, UTC+12:45 and Panama is UTC-05:00. Daylight saving shifts the gap during the year in places that observe it.

## Related pages

- [New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country/new-zealand/)
- [Panama](https://atoneplace.net/country/panama/)
- [India vs New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-new-zealand/)
- [India vs Panama](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-panama/)
- [China vs New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-new-zealand/)
- [China vs Panama](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-panama/)
- [Japan vs New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-new-zealand/)
- [Japan vs Panama](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-panama/)
- [Canada vs New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/canada-vs-new-zealand/)
- [Canada vs Panama](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/canada-vs-panama/)
- [Australia vs New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/australia-vs-new-zealand/)
- [Australia vs Panama](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/australia-vs-panama/)
- [New Zealand vs United States](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/new-zealand-vs-united-states/)
- [New Zealand vs United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/new-zealand-vs-united-kingdom/)

## 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]