New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (commonly called the North Island and the South Island), and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing but in free association); Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica).

New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation: it is situated about 2000 km (1250 miles) southeast of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and its closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. During its long isolation New Zealand developed a distinctive fauna dominated by birds, a number of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and the mammals they introduced.

The population of New Zealand is mostly of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority. Asians and non-Māori Polynesians are also significant minority groups, especially in urban areas. The most commonly spoken language is English.

New Zealand is a developed country that ranks highly in international comparisons on human development, quality of life, life expectancy, literacy, public education, peace^[8], prosperity, economic freedom, ease of doing business, lack of corruption, press freedom, and the protection of civil liberties and political rights.^[9] Its cities also consistently rank among the world's most liveable.

Elizabeth II, as the Queen of New Zealand, is the country's head of state and is represented by a non-partisan Governor-General. The Queen has no real political influence, and her position is essentially symbolic besides five reserve powers.^[10] Political power is held by the democratically elected Parliament of New Zealand under the leadership of the Prime Minister, who is the head of government.

Contents

• 1 Etymology
• 2 History
• 3 Politics
  • 3.1 Government
  • 3.2 Foreign relations and the military
  • 3.3 Local government and external territories
• 4 Geography and environment
• 5 Biodiversity
• 6 Economy
  • 6.1 Recent history
  • 6.2 Energy production
  • 6.3 Agriculture
• 7 Demography
• 8 Culture
  • 8.1 Overview
  • 8.2 Te Reo Māori
  • 8.3 Film Industry
  • 8.4 Media
  • 8.5 Sports
• 9 See also
• 10 References
  • 10.1 Bibliography
  • 10.2 Further reading
  • 10.3 Notes
• 11 External links

New Zealand Aotearoa (Māori)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "God Defend New Zealand" "God Save the Queen"1
Capital		Wellington 41°17′S 174°27′E / 41.283°S 174.45°E / -41.283; 174.45
Largest city		Auckland2
Official languages		English (98%)3 Māori (4.2%)3 NZ Sign Language (0.6%)3
Ethnic groups		78% European/Other4 14.6% Maori4 9.2% Asian4 6.9% Pacific peoples4
Demonym		New Zealander, Kiwi (colloquial)
Government		Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy
-	Head of State	HM Queen Elizabeth II
-	Governor-General	Sir Anand Satyanand
-	Prime Minister	John Key
-	Speaker	Dr Lockwood Smith
-	Chief Justice	Dame Sian Elias
Independence		from the United Kingdom
-	1st Parliament	25 May 18545
-	Dominion	26 September 19075
-	Statute of Westminster	11 December 1931 (adopted 25 November 1947)
-	Constitution Act 1986	13 December 1986
Area
-	Total	268,680 km2 (75th) 103,738 sq mi
-	Water (%)	2.1
Population
-	March 2009 estimate	4,306,4006 (122nd (2008))
-	2006 census	4,027,9477
-	Density	15/km2 (201st) 39/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$115.709 billion [1] (60)
-	Per capita	$27,060 [1] (34)
GDP (nominal)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$128.492 billion [1] (54)
-	Per capita	$30,049 [1] (28)
Gini (1997)		36.2 (medium)
HDI (2008)		▲ 0.947 (high) (20th)
Currency		New Zealand dollar (NZD)
Time zone		NZST8 (UTC+12)
-	Summer (DST)	NZDT (UTC+13)
		(Sep to Apr)
Date formats		dd/mm/yyyy
Drives on the		left
Internet TLD		.nz9
Calling code		64