Look on the bright side - you can't spend it when you're gone

Photo / Getty Images

If New Zealand is one of the most expensive places to live there are compensations - in death it is one of the cheapest.

Forty countries were looked at in a Economist Intelligence Unit survey, with each ranked according to its performance in four categories, including the availability, cost and quality of end-of-life care services. New Zealand trailed Britain and Australia and is just ahead of Ireland and Belgium.

New Zealand ranked best in the category that looked at the cost of end-of-life care, coming first equal, but did not perform so well in the category that looked at a country's basic end-of-life healthcare environment, managing only 28th equal with Britain.

Factors listed as some of New Zealand's "weaknesses" included social security expenditure on health and the availability of hospices and palliative care services.

- Staff reporter