New Zealand

New Zealand (or Aotearoa in the Maori language, meaning Land of the Long White Cloud) is a country located in the Southwest Pacific. The two main islands of New Zealand are somewhat isolated in the ocean, with the continent of Australia about 1600 km to the northwest. To the south is Antarctica and to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga.

Dominion of New Zealand

File:New zealand flag medium.png	File:New zealand coa.png
(In Detail)

National motto: None

Official language

Capital

Queen

Governor General

Prime Minister

Area
- Total
- % water

Ranked 73rd
268,680 km²
Negligible

Population

- Total (2000)

- Density

Ranked 120th

3,864,129

14.4/km²

Independence
- Date

From the UK
September 26, 1907

Currency

New Zealand dollar

Time zone

UTC +12

National anthems

God Defend New Zealand
God Save The Queen

Internet TLD

.NZ

Calling Code

64

History

Main article: History of New Zealand

New Zealand is one of the most recently settled major land masses. Polynesian settlers arrived probably some time between 500 and 1300 AD, and established the indigenous Maori culture. The first Europeans to reach New Zealand were led by Abel Janszoon Tasman, who sailed up the west coast of the South and North islands in 1642. The Dutch thought it was a single land which they later named "Nieuw Zeeland" after their province of Zeeland. In 1769 James Cook began extensive surveys of the islands. This led to European whaling expeditions and eventually significant European colonisation. The Treaty of Waitangi on February 6, 1840 between the British government and the Maori established British sovereignty over New Zealand. New Zealand became an independent dominion on September 26, 1907 by royal proclamation.

Politics

Main article: Politics of New Zealand

New Zealand is an independent parliamentary democracy governed by a 120-member unicameral parliament, from which an executive cabinet of about 20 ministers is selected. This cabinet is led by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, currently (August 2002) Helen Clark of the centre-left Labour party, which governs in coalition with the further-left Progressive Coalition party, and centre - right United Future. General elections are held every three years, the most recent in July 2002. Currently seven parties are represented in the New Zealand parliament. New Zealand is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and its head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented by the Governor General, Dame Silvia Cartwright.

New Zealand is a party to the ANZUS security treaty between Australia, New Zealand and the United States. In 1985 New Zealand refused to allow U.S. nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships to enter its ports, causing the US to abrogate its ANZUS responsibilities to New Zealand in 1986. New Zealand has not formally withdrawn from the treaty.

Regions

Main article: Regions of New Zealand

New Zealand consists of 16 regions of which 4 are unitary authorities, marked by a *:

The regions are further subdivided into 57 districts and 16 cities; the district of the Chatham Islands is considered a separate region.

Geography

Main article: Geography of New Zealand

New Zealand is composed of two main islands and a number of smaller islands. The South Island is the largest land mass, and is divided along its length by the Southern Alps, the highest peak of which is Mount Cook, at 3754 metres. There are eighteen peaks of more than three kilometres in the South Island. The North Island is less mountainous than the South, but is marked by volcanism. The tallest North Island mountain, Mount Ruapehu (2797 metres,) is an active cone volcano.

The total land area of New Zealand, 268,680 km², is somewhat less than that of Japan or of the British Isles, and slightly larger than Colorado in the USA. The country extends more than 1600 km along its main, north-northeast axis.

The climate throughout the country is mild, mostly temperate, with temperatures rarely falling below 0°C or rising above 30°C. Conditions vary from wet and cold in Southland and the West Coast of the South Island, where most of the country's rain falls, to subtropical in Auckland and Northland. In Wellington the average minimum temperature in winter is 5.9°C and the average maximum temperature in summer is 20.3°C.

National parks (New Zealand)

Economy

Main article: Economy of New Zealand

New Zealand is a modern, industrialised country. Its primary export industries are agriculture, horticulture, fishing and forestry. There are also substantial manufacturing, tourism and service industries.

Since 1984 successive governments have engaged in major economic restructuring, transforming New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access in the direction of a more industrialised, free market economy that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes (but left behind many at the bottom of the ladder), broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. While per-capita incomes have risen, however, they remain below the level of the four largest European Union economies, and there is some government concern that New Zealand is not closing the gap.

New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade - particularly in agricultural products - to drive growth, and it has been affected by global economic slowdowns and slumps in commodity prices. Thus far the New Zealand economy has been relatively resilient, achieving about 3% growth in 2001, but the New Zealand business cycle tends to lag the US cycle by about six months, so the worst of the downturn may not hit until mid-2002.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of New Zealand

Although the majority of the New Zealand population (80%) is now of European origin, Maori (10%) and Pacific Islanders (4%) are the second and third largest ethnic groups, and Maori culture is a significant feature of New Zealand's public life.

The main Christian denominations are Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, Roman Catholicism and Methodism. Over a third of the population is unaffiliated.

Culture

Main article: Culture of New Zealand

New Zealand's most popular sports are rugby (primarily rugby union but also rugby league), football (the most popular sport amongst children), cricket, and netball (the sport with the most players); golf, tennis, rowing and a variety water sports and snow sports are also popular.

New Zealand is world-famous among glider pilots for hosting the 1995 Gliding World Cup at Omarama in North Otago near the centre of the South Island. The Southern Alps are known for the excellent wave soaring conditions. Steve Fosset has recently tried to beat the world gliding altitude record there. (See external links.)

New Zealand's scenery has appeared in a number of television programmes and films. In particular, Hercules and Xena were filmed around Auckland, Heavenly Creatures in Christchurch, and The Lord of the Rings has been filmed around the country, taking advantage of the spectacular and relatively unspoiled landscapes.

New Zealand cinema

Miscellaneous topics

Countries of the world | Oceania