Costa Rica vs New Zealand

Score comparison table

DimensionCosta RicaNew Zealand
Lucky Nomads World Index
7.37 / 107.22 / 10
SafetyShield Index
6.2 / 108.9 / 10
Affordability Index
7.0 / 104.7 / 10
Entry Ease Index
6.6 / 106.2 / 10
Tax Freedom Index
8.6 / 104.7 / 10
WiFi Index
8.0 / 108.6 / 10
Admin Ease Index
7.2 / 109.6 / 10
Healthcare Index
8.4 / 108.6 / 10
City Comfort Index
7.7 / 108.8 / 10
WeatherComfort Index
6.5 / 106.2 / 10
Banking Index
6.8 / 109.2 / 10
GeoStability Index
8.6 / 108.8 / 10
Justice & Order Index
7.8 / 108.9 / 10
Quality of Life Index
8.4 / 108.3 / 10
Open Society Index
7.9 / 108.8 / 10
Flight Index
3.6 / 105.5 / 10
Environmental Quality Index
8.3 / 109.2 / 10
English Index
5.0 / 109.6 / 10
Wealth Protection Index
8.1 / 109.2 / 10

Tax, economy, and demographics

DimensionCosta RicaNew Zealand
Corporate income tax
30%Very high
28%Very high
Corporate tax basis
Territorial
Worldwide
Personal income tax (marginal)
25%Moderate
39%High
Personal tax basis
Territorial
Worldwide
Population5.2 M5.3 M
Area51,100 km²
270,467 km²×5.29
Population density102 /km²20 /km²
CapitalSan JoséWellington
CurrencyCRC (Costa Rican colón)NZD (New Zealand dollar)
Main airportSJO (Juan Santamaría International Airport)AKL (Auckland Airport)
Phone code+506+64
Internet TLD.cr.nz

Visa access controls

Your access

Pick your nationality above to see how long you can stay in each country and whether you need a visa.

Passport power

Mobility strength of each country's passport, useful if you are weighing it as a future citizenship.

Costa Rica passport

52.18

LN Passport Index (#51)

148

Visa-free destinations

  • Schengen visa-free
  • UK visa-free

New Zealand passport

53.79

LN Passport Index (#44)

186

Visa-free destinations

  • Schengen visa-free
  • UK visa-free
  • US ESTA
  • Canada eTA
  • Australia visa-free

Verdict

For professionals who prioritize english index, New Zealand leads with 9.6 / 10 versus 5.0 / 10 for Costa Rica. On tax freedom index, Costa Rica is at 8.6 / 10 compared with 4.7 / 10 for New Zealand.

Who should choose which country

Who should choose Costa Rica

  • Professionals who prioritize tax freedom index (very favorable tax environment)
  • Professionals who prioritize geostability index (very strong geostability index)
  • Professionals who prioritize quality of life index (very strong quality of life index)

Who should choose New Zealand

  • Professionals who prioritize admin ease index (minimal day-to-day bureaucracy)
  • Professionals who prioritize english index (exceptional english index)
  • Professionals who prioritize environmental quality index (exceptional environmental quality index)

Also compare

See full Costa Rica analysis →See full New Zealand analysis →
Lucky Maillard, Founder of Lucky Nomads

Lucky Maillard

Founder, Lucky Nomads · Wealth manager

Researched from official sources, leading global indices and Lucky Nomads' own scoring.

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