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New Zealand
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New Zealand is located in the Southwest Pacific Ocean and consists of two main islands as well as a number of smaller ones. The principal islands are the North and South Islands which are separated by the Cook Strait. North Island has a mountainous center with many hot springs and volcanic peaks while it also contains the country's longest river, the Waikato and the largest lake, Lake Taupo.
| South Island is much more mountainous with the Southern Alps, which has some 350 glaciers, running across the length of the island. Much of the lowlands are broken and hilly while plains are not prominent on either island.
The largest area of level lowland is the Canterbury Plains on the east side of South Island.
Major Cities (pop. est.); Auckland 336,500, Christchurch 308,800, Manukau 243,400, North Shore 163,600, Wellington 153,800 (1995). Land Use; forested 27%, pastures 50%, agricultural-cultivated 14%, other 9% (1993). |
Aoraki/Mount Cook is the tallest mountain in New Zealand |
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New Zealand has a temperate climate dominated by the east moving anti cyclones that bring clear skies or fog while weather conditions are highly changeable throughout the year. All months are moderately wet while the high mountains carry snow throughout the year. Average annual precipitation varies between 600 and 1,500 mm (24 and 59 inches). Average temperature ranges in Wellington are from 6 to 12 degrees Celsius (43 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit) in July to 13 to 21 degrees Celsius (55 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit) in January.
Singapore Weather Now
Flora and Fauna
Because of its long isolation from the rest of the world, and its island biogeography New Zealand has extraordinary flora and fauna. About 80 percent of the New Zealand flora only occurs in New Zealand, including more than 40 endemic genera. The main two types of forest have been dominated by podocarps including the giant kauri and southern beech. The remaining vegetation types in New Zealand are grassland of grass and tussock, usually associated with the sub-alpine areas, and the low shrublands between grasslands and forests. |
Crowns of two kauri trees |
Until the arrival of the first humans, 80% of the land was forested and, barring two species of bat, there were no non-marine mammals at all. Instead, New Zealand's forests were inhabited by a diverse range of birds including the flightless Moa which is now extinct, the Kiwi, Kakapo, and Takahē which are all endangered due to human actions. Unique birds capable of flight include the Haast's eagle which was the world's largest bird of prey before it became extinct and the large parrots the Kaka and Kea. Reptiles present in New Zealand include skinks and geckos and the Tuatara. There are no snakes but there are many species of insects— including the weta which may grow as large as a House Mouse. |
New Zealand Kakapo |
Zew Zealand Animals MORE
New Zealand Plants MORE
Bio-Diversity of New Zealand MORE
The principal ethnic majority are the Whites who account for around 82% of the population and are overwhelmingly of British descent while 9% are Maori who are of Polynesian origins and 3% are Pacific Islanders including Cook Islanders. Other non-European minorities include small numbers of Chinese, Indians and Arabs.
New Zealand has a diverse contemporary culture with influences from British, the Māori,and other European immigrants and most recently Polynesian cultures. There were many people from Scotland amongst the early British settlers and elements of their culture persist; New Zealand is said to have more bagpipe bands than Scotland. Cultural links between New Zealand and the UK are maintained by a common language, sustained migration from the UK and the fact that many young New Zealanders spend time in the UK on their "overseas experience (OE)".
Pre-European contact Māori culture had no metal tools, relying on stone and wood. Modern Māori do not live a traditional lifestyle. Elements of Māori culture survive and the Government actively promotes it to all New Zealanders, and many are protected under the terms of the Treaty of Waitangi. Use of the Māori language (Te Reo Māori) as a living, community language remained only in a few remote areas in the post war years but it is currently going through a renaissance; with generous state support for Māori language medium schools and a Māori language television channel.
New Zealand's landscape has appeared in a number of television programmes and films. In particular, the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess were filmed around Auckland, and the film Heavenly Creatures in Christchurch. The television series The Tribe is set and filmed in New Zealand as well. Director Peter Jackson shot the epic The Lord of the Rings trilogy in various locations around the country, taking advantage of the spectacular and relatively unspoiled landscapes, and Mount Taranaki was used as a stand-in for Mount Fuji in The Last Samurai. The latest of such major international films to be released are King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
New Zealnd Culture MORE
MAORI Culture MORE
New Zealand has a population of about 4.1 million. About 70% of the population are of European descent. New Zealand born Europeans are collectively known as Pākeha - this term is used variously and some Māori use it to refer to all non-Māori New Zealanders. Most European New Zealanders are of British ancestory. Māori people are the second largest ethnic group (the percentage of the population of full or part-Māori ancestry is 14.7%; those who checked only Māori are 7.9%). Between the 1996 and 2001 censuses, the number of people of Asian origin (6.6%) overtook the number of people of Pacific Island origin (6.5%) (note that the census allowed multiple ethnic affiliations). New Zealand is positive about immigration and is committed to increasing its population by about 1% per annum. At present migrants from the UK constitute the largest single group (30%) but new migrants are drawn from many nations, increasingly from East Asia.
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New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. Under the New Zealand Royal Titles Act (1953), Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is Queen of New Zealand and is represented as head of state by the Governor-General, Her Excellency Dame Silvia Cartwright.
New Zealand is the only country in the world where all the highest offices in the land are occupied by women. The Sovereign Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand, Governor-General Her Excellency Dame Silvia Cartwright, Prime Minister Helen Clark, Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Hon. Margaret Wilson and the Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias.
The New Zealand Parliament has only one chamber, the House of Representatives which usually seats 120 members of Parliament. Parliamentary elections are every three years under a form of proportional representation called Mixed Member Proportional (MMP). The 2005 General Election created an 'overhang' of one extra seat (occupied by the Māori Party), due to that party winning more seats in constituencies than its proportional entitlement. |
Helen Clark, Prime Minister |
There is no single written constitution; however, the Constitution Act (1986) is the principal formal statement of New Zealand's constitutional structure. The Governor-General has the power to appoint and dismiss Prime Ministers and to dissolve Parliament. The Governor-General also chairs the Executive Council which is a formal committee consisting of all ministers of the Crown. Members of the Executive Council are required to be members of Parliament, and most are also in Cabinet. Cabinet is the most senior policy-making body and is led by the Prime Minister who is also the Parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition.
The current Prime Minister is Helen Clark of the Labour Party. She has served two complete terms as Prime Minister and has begun her third. On 17 October 2005 she announced that she had come to a complex arrangement that guaranteed the support of enough parties for her Labour-led coalition to govern. The core of the coalition is a cabinet consisting of Labour Party ministers and Jim Anderton, the Progressive Party's only MP. In addition to the parties represented in cabinet the leaders of New Zealand First and United Future are to be appointed as Ministers outside Cabinet. An arrangement of this kind has never been attempted before in New Zealand.
A further arrangement has been made with the Green Party, which has given a commitment not to vote against the government on confidence and supply. This commitment assures the government of a majority of seven MPs on confidence.
The Leader of the Opposition is National Party leader Don Brash who was formerly Governor of the Reserve Bank. Also in opposition are the Māori Party and ACT New Zealand.
The highest court in New Zealand is the Supreme Court of New Zealand. The Supreme Court was established in 2004 following the passage of the Supreme Court Act in 2003. The Act abolished the option to appeal Court of Appeal rulings to the Privy Council in London. The current Chief Justice is Dame Sian Elias. New Zealand's judiciary also has a High Court which deals with serious criminal offences and civil matters, and a Court of Appeal, as well as subordinate courts.
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Christianity is the predominant religion in New Zealand, although nearly 40% of the population has no religious affiliation. The main Christian denominations are Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, Roman Catholicism and Methodism. There are also significant numbers who identify themselves with Pentecostal and Baptist churches and with the Mormon church. The New Zealand-based Ratana church has many adherents among Māori. According to census figures, other significant minority religions include Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.
The official languages are English and Maori with English understood by all the population while Maori is the language of the indigenous New Zealanders.
Learn Maori
Although the official language is English, you may be interested in learning some Maori phrases and words. To get you started we have put some basic phrases in Maori below.
Click 
to hear the Maori phrase, the words to the right of the icon are how to say it.
Phrases |
| Hello |
Kia Ora |
| See you |
Ka Kite |
| Hello (to one person) |
Tēnā
Koe |
| Hello (to two people) |
Tēnā
korua |
| Hello (to three or more people) |
Tēnā
Koutou |
| Welcome |
Nau Mai |
| Goodbye (to the person staying) |
E Nocho Ra |
| Goodbye (to the person going) |
Haera Ra |
| Family |
Whānau |
| Listen |
Whakarongo |
| Good |
Kei Te Pai |
| Yes |
Ae |
| No |
Kaore |
| Where are you from? |
No Hea Koe? |
| I only speak a little Maori |
He iti noa iho taku reo Maori |
Aged 25 or over and having attained: primary and incomplete secondary 54.9%, secondary 31.1%, higher 6.9%, unspecified 6.1% (1991). Literacy; literate population aged 15 or over virtually 100% (1993).
| Modern History - WWII to 1993 |
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In 1945 New Zealand became a founding member of the UN and in 1951 New Zealand signed the ANZUS Treaty with Australia and the US. During the 1950's New Zealand troops fought with US forces in the Korean War. In 1960 Sir Keith Holyoake led the National Party (NP) to power and in 1975 Robert Muldoon of the NP was elected Prime Minister. In 1984 David Lange of the Labor Party became Prime Minister and in 1985 New Zealand banned nuclear weapons and nuclear power ships from its ports, which resulted in the US withdrawing guarantees of security to NZ under the ANZUS treaty and later imposing a trade freeze. Also in 1985 Greenpeace's flagship the Rainbow Warrior, which was preparing to embark on a voyage to protest the testing of nuclear weapons in French Polynesia, was sabotaged and sunk in Auckland Harbor by French secret agents killing one person. Two of the secret agents were subsequently arrested and convicted of manslaughter.
In 1987 Lange was re-elected as Prime Minister and in Aug. 1989 resigned as Labor Party leader and Prime Minister. Mike Moore succeeded Lange and in Oct. 1990 the National Party led by Jim Bolger won the general elections. In 1991 the government facing a worsening economic situation announced plans for the country's traditional entitlement for women and men over 60 to receive a pension to be subject to a means test of assets and income. Following the July 1991 budget the New Zealand media reflected popular resentment with headlines such as "Welfare State in Tatters" and "Target Middle Income Earners". Eventually the resistance from community and parliamentary groups led to the government dropping their plans to subject pensioners to a means test. On Sept. 25, 1991 the Reserve Bank increased its money circulation by $5 million per day that resulted in interest rates easing and greater stock market activity. Also in 1991 the government supported the US-led coalition Gulf War through supplying medical teams while Prime Minister Bolger announced he would consider the lifting of the ban on nuclear-powered vessels entering its ports but would retain the ban on nuclear arms.
In 1992 the government continued with its economic restructuring program that included some user-paid health services while unemployment rose to 15%. On Aug. 5, 1992 former Prime Minister from 1975 to 1984, Sir Robert Muldoon died. On Sept. 19, 1992 the first part of a two-part referendum on electoral methods resulted in the support for changes to the first-past-the-post method to a preferred method based on mixed member proportional (MMP) representation, a system that calls for inter party consultation. The government announced that the second part of the referendum would be held in conjunction with general elections due in 1993. Also in 1992 the government signed a compensation agreement with Maori tribes over a 150 year old dispute over fishing rights. In 1993 the government continued with its plan of deregulation and privatization program that was originated by its Labor government predecessor. The government broke down national industry-wide union contracts into plant-centered ones based on voluntary union membership. In June 1993 unemployment had fallen to 9.9% of the labor force. In Nov. 1993 general elections resulted in the ruling NP retaining a narrow majority over the Labor Party by 50 seats to 45. In the same elections the electoral reform referendum resulted in the approval of the MMP system, in which the Parliament would expand from 99 members to 120 members, of which 64 were to be elected and 56 appointed from party lists.
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The official currency is the Zew Zealand Dollar (NZD) divided into 100 Cents.
New Zealand has a thriving, modern, developed economy. The country has a high standard of living, ranking 19th on the 2005 Human Development Index and 15th of The Economist's 2005 world-wide quality-of-life index. Since 1984 successive governments have engaged in major macroeconomic restructuring, transforming New Zealand from a highly protectionist and regulated economy to a liberalised free-trade economy. During the late 1980s, the New Zealand Government sold a number of major trading enterprises, including its telecommunications company, railway network, a number of radio stations and two financial institutions in a series of asset sales. Although the New Zealand Government continues to own a number of significant businesses, collectively known as State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), they are operated through arms-length shareholding arrangements as stand-alone businesses that are required to operate profitably, just like any privately owned enterprise.
Unfortunately, due in part to the sudden transition to a market economy, an economic bubble developed in the New Zealand stock market starting in 1984. This burst in October 1987 and the total value of the market halved within a year (it has still to recover this lost value). The effect of this bubble was a period of poor economic growth which lasted until the mid 1990s. It also led the government to begin a programme of massive immigration to boost GDP. However, since 1999 New Zealand has enjoyed a period of relatively strong and sustained growth, and contained inflationary pressures.
The current New Zealand government's economic objectives are centred on moving from being ranked among the lower end of the OECD countries to regaining a higher placing again, pursuing free-trade agreements, "closing the gaps" between ethnic groups, and building a "knowledge economy." In 2004 it began discussing free trade with China, one of the first countries to do so.
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. Since agricultural exports are highly sensitive to currency values and a large percentage of consumer goods are imported, any changes in the value of the New Zealand dollar has a strong impact on the economy. Its primary export industries are agriculture, horticulture, fishing and forestry. There are also substantial tourism and export education industries. The film and wine industries are considered to be up-and-coming.
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Railroads; route length 4,227 km (2,627 mi) (1990), passenger-km 458,160,000 (284,687,000 passenger-mi) (1984), cargo ton-km 2,682,000,000 (1,837,000,000 short ton-mi) (1990). Roads; length 92,659 km (57,576 mi) (1990). Vehicles; cars 1,438,704 (1989), trucks and buses 297,598 (1989). Merchant Marine; vessels 135 (1990), deadweight tonnage 302,352 (1990). Air Transport; passenger-km 10,608,000,000 (6,592,000,000 passenger-mi) (1990), cargo ton-km 332,000,000 (227,387,000 short ton-mi) (1990).
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Daily Newspapers; total of 31 with a total circulation of 1,050,000 (1992). Radio; receivers 3,215,000 (1992). Television; receivers 1,530,000 (1992). Telephones; units 1,593,000 (1993).
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10,050 (1995) total active duty personnel with 44.3% army, 33.3% navy and 21.9% air force while military expenditure accounts for 1.5% (1993) of the Gross National Product (GNP).
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Link - Provides detailed information and statistics on Geography, People, Government, Economy, Communications, Transportation, Military and Transnational Issues.
Link - World Bank Dat Profile provides key statistical information on People, Environment, Economy, Technology Infrastructure, Trade & Finance
Link - link to a Wikipedia page providing a wealth of information from History and Culture through to Politics and Religion
Link - link to the latest New Headlines for this country
Link - link to Human Rights report for this country produces by Amnesty International
Link - link to GE Source World Guide providing country profile, demographics, economic data, satellite images.
Te Ara, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Te Puna Web Directory - A directory to New Zealand web sites
Ministry for Culture and Heritage - includes information on flag, anthems and coat of arms.
New Zealand Government Portal
Travel guide to New Zealand from Wikitravel
New Zealand weather
NZHistory.net.nz New Zealand history website
Statistics New Zealand - Official statistics.
Tourism New Zealand
www.zoomin.co.nz Maps of New Zealand
