---
title: "New Zealand vs Russia — area, population, currency"
description: "New Zealand is 268,838 km² with 5,324,700 people; Russia is 17,098,242 km² with 143,513,328. Area, density, currency, languages and time zones side by side."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/new-zealand-vs-russia/
site: "At One Place"
---

# New Zealand vs Russia

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

268,838 km² vs 17,098,242 km² · 5,324,700 vs 143,513,328

Russia is 64 times larger than New Zealand — 17,098,242 against 268,838 km². Russia is 27 times more populous than New Zealand — 143,513,328 against 5,324,700 people.

## Side by side

|  | New Zealand | Russia |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Wellington | Moscow |
| Area | 268,838 km² | 17,098,242 km² |
| Population | 5,324,700 (2025) | 143,513,328 (2025) |
| Density | 19.8 /km² | 8.4 /km² |
| Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | Russian ruble (RUB) |
| Official languages | English, Māori, New Zealand Sign Language | Russian |
| Time zones | UTC+12:00, UTC+12:45 | UTC+02:00, UTC+03:00, UTC+04:00, UTC+05:00, UTC+06:00, UTC+07:00, UTC+08:00, UTC+09:00, UTC+10:00, UTC+11:00, UTC+12:00 |
| Calling code | +64 | +7 |
| Drives on the | left | right |
| Continent | Oceania | Europe |
| ISO codes | NZ / NZL | RU / RUS |

## Population density

New Zealand is 2.4 times more densely populated than Russia — 20 against 8 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, Russia on the right.
- Different currencies: the New Zealand dollar and the Russian ruble.
- Russia spans 11 time zones, so "local time" there is not a single answer.
- Different continents — Oceania and Europe.

## 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.

## Russia

The largest country in the world by land area, close to twice the size of the next one, and it spans eleven time zones. Lake Baikal in Siberia is the deepest lake on Earth at 1,642 m and holds roughly a fifth of the world's unfrozen fresh water — more than all five North American Great Lakes combined. Russia and China each border fourteen countries, more than any other state.

> 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 Russia?

Russia is larger — 17,098,242 km² against 268,838 km².

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

Russia, with 143,513,328 against 5,324,700.

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

New Zealand is UTC+12:00, UTC+12:45 and Russia is UTC+02:00, UTC+03:00, UTC+04:00, UTC+05:00, UTC+06:00, UTC+07:00, UTC+08:00, UTC+09:00, UTC+10:00, UTC+11:00, UTC+12:00. Daylight saving shifts the gap during the year in places that observe it.

## Related pages

- [New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country/new-zealand/)
- [Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country/russia/)
- [India vs New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-new-zealand/)
- [India vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-russia/)
- [China vs New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-new-zealand/)
- [China vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-russia/)
- [Japan vs New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-new-zealand/)
- [Japan vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-russia/)
- [Canada vs New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/canada-vs-new-zealand/)
- [Canada vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/canada-vs-russia/)
- [Australia vs New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/australia-vs-new-zealand/)
- [Australia vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/australia-vs-russia/)
- [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]