Global InformationNew Zealand information
New Zealand Aotearoa (Māori) | |
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 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Anthems: "God Defend New Zealand" (Māori: Aotearoa) "God Save the King"[n 1] | |
 Location of New Zealand, including outlying islands, its territorial claim in the Antarctic, and Tokelau | |
| Capital | Wellington 41°18′S 174°47′E / 41.300°S 174.783°E |
| Largest city | Auckland |
| Official languages |
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| Ethnic groups (2018)[3] |
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| Religion (2018)[4] |
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| Demonym(s) |
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| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Monarch | Charles III |
• Governor-General | Cindy Kiro |
• Prime Minister | Christopher Luxon |
| Legislature | Parliament (House of Representatives) |
| Stages of independence from the United Kingdom | |
• Treaty of Waitangi[5] | 6 February 1840 |
• Responsible government | 7 May 1856 |
• Dominion | 26 September 1907 |
• Statute of Westminster Adoption Act | 25 November 1947 |
• Constitution Act 1986 | 1 January 1987 |
| Area | |
• Total | 268,021[6] km2 (103,483 sq mi) (75th) |
• Water (%) | 1.6[n 5] |
| Population | |
• April 2024 estimate |  5,347,660[8] (120th) |
• 2018 census | 4,699,755[9] |
• Density | 19.5/km2 (50.5/sq mi) (167th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total |  $279.183 billion[10] (63rd) |
• Per capita | $53,809[10] (32nd) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $249.415 billion[10] (51st) |
• Per capita | $48,071[10] (23rd) |
| Gini (2022) |  30.0[11]medium |
| HDI (2022) | 0.939[12] very high (16th) |
| Currency | New Zealand dollar ($) (NZD) |
| Time zone | UTC+12 (NZST[n 6]) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+13 (NZDT[n 7]) |
| Date format | dd/mm/yyyy[14] |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +64 |
| ISO 3166 code | NZ |
| Internet TLD | .nz |
New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland.
The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and then subsequently developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1769 the British explorer Captain James Cook became the first European to set foot on and map New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which in its English version declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire. Subsequently, a series of conflicts between the colonial government and Māori tribes resulted in the alienation and confiscation of large amounts of Māori land. New Zealand became a dominion in 1907; it gained full statutory independence in 1947, retaining the monarch as head of state. Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 5.25 million is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pasifika. Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening of culture arising from increased immigration. The official languages are English, Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language, with the local dialect of English being dominant.
A developed country, it was the first to introduce a minimum wage, and the first to give women the right to vote. It ranks very highly in international measures of quality of life, human rights, and it has low levels of perceived corruption. It retains visible levels of inequality, having structural disparities between its Māori and European populations. New Zealand underwent major economic changes during the 1980s, which transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy. The service sector dominates the national economy, followed by the industrial sector, and agriculture; international tourism is also a significant source of revenue.
Nationally, legislative authority is vested in an elected, unicameral Parliament, while executive political power is exercised by the Government, led by the prime minister, currently Christopher Luxon. Charles III is the country's king and is represented by the governor-general, Cindy Kiro. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes. The Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau (a dependent territory); the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing states in free association with New Zealand); and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica.
New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, UKUSA, OECD, ASEAN Plus Six, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum. It enjoys particularly close relations with the United States and is one of its major non-NATO allies;[15] the United Kingdom; Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga; and with Australia, with a shared "Trans-Tasman" identity between the two countries stemming from centuries of British colonisation.[16]
- ^ "Protocol for using New Zealand's National Anthems". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Fifth Periodic Report of the Government of New Zealand (PDF) (Report). New Zealand Government. 21 December 2007. p. 89. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
In addition to the Māori language, New Zealand Sign Language is also an official language of New Zealand. The New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006 permits the use of NZSL in legal proceedings, facilitates competency standards for its interpretation and guides government departments in its promotion and use. English, the medium for teaching and learning in most schools, is a de facto official language by virtue of its widespread use. For these reasons, these three languages have special mention in the New Zealand Curriculum.
- ^ "Quick stats about ethnicity for New Zealand (2018 Census)". Statistics New Zealand. Source: Stats NZ and licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
- ^ "Quick stats about religion for New Zealand (2018 Census)". Statistics New Zealand. Source: Stats NZ and licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
- ^ "Treaty of Waitangi". mch.govt.nz. Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ "New Zealand country profile". BBC News. 20 November 2023. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ "The New Zealand Land Cover Database". New Zealand Land Cover Database 2. Ministry for the Environment. 1 July 2009. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
- ^ "Population clock". Statistics New Zealand. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2021. The population estimate shown is automatically calculated daily at 00:00 UTC and is based on data obtained from the population clock on the date shown in the citation.
- ^ "2018 Census population and dwelling counts". Statistics New Zealand. 23 September 2019. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
- ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (NZ)". International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ Household income and housing-cost statistics: Year ended June 2022. Statistics New Zealand. 23 March 2023. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. p. 288. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ "New Zealand Daylight Time Order 2007 (SR 2007/185)". New Zealand Parliamentary Counsel Office. 6 July 2007. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ There is no official all-numeric date format for New Zealand, but government recommendations generally follow Australian date and time notation. See The Govt.nz style guide, New Zealand Government, 22 July 2020, archived from the original on 25 July 2021, retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^ "22 USC § 2321k – Designation of major non-NATO allies". law.cornell.edu. Legal Information Institute. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- ^ Lynch, Brian (2009). "THE TRANS-TASMAN WORLD: towards a closer understanding". New Zealand International Review. 34 (2): 25–27. JSTOR 45235895.
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