In the First World War, New Zealand recorded the highest casualties per head of population of any combatant nation. Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand, and conveniently located in the centre of the country Dubbed the ‘City of Sails’, Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city and boasts a harbour and a coast just 40 mins apart Welcome to New Zealand – Tourism.org.nz is your gateway to discovering the stunning beauty and vibrant culture of Aotearoa, New Zealand. What makes New Zealand a unique country to travel to? The North Island also has mountain ranges, and four volcanic peaks, including Mt. Ruapehu, which has been active (but not dangerous) since September 1995.
In 2005, agriculture made up about 5 percent of gross domestic product; industry, 28 percent; and services, 67 percent. A period of poor economic growth lasted until the mid-1990s, when the government began a program of immigration to boost GDP. An economic bubble developed in the New Zealand stock market starting in 1984. The businesses the government retained, known as “state-owned enterprises,” are required to operate profitably as stand-alone businesses.
- What is the capital of New Zealand?
- The early European settlers divided New Zealand into provinces, which had a degree of autonomy.
- The southern and southwestern parts of the South Island have a cooler and cloudier climate, with around 1,400–1,600 hours.
- The supremacy of parliament over the Crown and other government institutions was established in England by the Bill of Rights 1689 and has been ratified as law in New Zealand.
- The All Blacks perform a traditional Maori war dance, or haka, before the start of international matches.
- By 2050, the median age is projected to rise to 43 years and the percentage of people 60 years of age and older to rise from 18% to 29%.
- In the First World War, New Zealand recorded the highest casualties per head of population of any combatant nation.
New Zealand art and craft has gradually achieved an international audience, with exhibitions in the Venice Biennale in 2001 and the “Paradise Now” exhibition in New York in 2004. Certain items of popular culture thought to be unique to New Zealand are called “Kiwiana”. In the 1960s, as tertiary education became more available, and cities expanded urban culture began to dominate, but rural imagery and themes are common in New Zealand’s art, literature and media. From the early 20th century until the late 1960s, Māori culture was suppressed by the attempted assimilation of Māori into British New Zealanders. More recently, American, Australian, Asian and other European cultures have exerted influence on New Zealand.
The early European settlers divided New Zealand into provinces, which had a degree of autonomy. One example of structural inequality in New Zealand can be seen in the criminal justice system. The New Zealand Human Rights Commission has asserted that there is strong, consistent evidence that structural discrimination is a real and ongoing socioeconomic issue. But this is untrue of local council elections; a historically low 36% of eligible New Zealanders voted in the 2022 local elections, compared with an already low 42% turnout in 2019. New Zealand ranks highly for civic participation in the political process, with 82% voter turnout during recent general elections, compared to an OECD average of 69%. New Zealand’s judiciary, headed by the chief justice, includes the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, the High Court, and subordinate courts.
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From the geothermal wonders of Rotorua and the serene beaches of Coromandel to the majestic peaks of Fiordland and Mt Cook, every region offers its own unique charm. Experience the Bay of Islands and cruise through Northland’s Hole the in Rock. Explore the beauty and diversity of New Zealand through its stunning destinations.
New Zealand’s transport network comprises 94,000 kilometres (58,410 mi) of roads, including 199 kilometres (124 mi) of motorways, and 4,128 kilometres (2,565 mi) of railway lines. In contrast, dairy farming increased, with the number of dairy cows doubling between 1990 and 2007, to become New Zealand’s largest export earner. On 7 April 2008, New Zealand and China signed the New Zealand–China Free Trade Agreement, the first such agreement China has signed with a developed country. Food products made up 55% of the value of all the country’s exports in 2014; wood was the second largest earner (7%). Exports account for 24% of its output, making New Zealand vulnerable to international commodity prices and global economic slowdowns.
Regions and external territories
While officially the Chatham Islands Council is not a unitary authority, it undertakes many functions of a regional council. The territorial authorities consist of 13 city councils, 53 district councils, and betista casino login the Chatham Islands Council. In 1989, the government reorganised local government into the current two-tier structure of regional councils and territorial authorities. Since 1876, various councils have administered local areas under legislation determined by the central government.
Christianity is the predominant religion in New Zealand, although nearly 40 percent of the population has no religious affiliation. Successive government policies on the relationship between Maori and non-Maori people have worsened race relations. English and Maori are the two official languages, although most visitors would find New Zealand exclusively an English-speaking country. A result of Pacific Island immigration is that South Auckland has become the world’s largest Polynesian city. About 70 percent of New Zealand’s population is of European descent, mostly English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, and Dutch. New Zealand once had about 20 times more sheep than people; by 2001 there were only 12 times as many.
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In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. Source your posts in the comments as best as possible. No Reposts within 180 days of the original post or for content already in the top 50. For example, posting 20 images of Sage from various different artists would not be allowed. Album posts must contain related images from the same set, and not assorted images you put into one post.
Charles III is the country’s king and is represented by the governor-general, Cindy Kiro. New Zealand and Australia have a strong relationship and are considered to share a strong Trans-Tasman identity, stemming from centuries of British colonisation. During the 1980s, New Zealand underwent major economic changes that transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy. The official languages are English, Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language, with the local dialect of English being dominant.
It is the sole home, for example, of the long-beaked, flightless kiwi, the ubiquitous nickname for New Zealanders. Niue and the Cook Islands are self-governing states in free association with New Zealand. New Zealand is ranked 5th in the International Cricket Council Men’s Test Team Rankings 2025 with a rating of 100. The All Blacks, the national rugby union team, are the most successful in the history of international rugby.
Land
Health New Zealand is charged with working alongside the Public Health Agency to manage the provision of healthcare services in New Zealand. Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora is the primary publicly funded healthcare system of New Zealand. As of 2023update, New Zealand allocated about 9.6 percent of its GDP to healthcare, slightly above the OECD average of 8.8 percent. The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment ranks New Zealand as the 28th best in the OECD for maths, 13th best for science, and 11th best for reading. In 2021, in the population aged 25–64, 13% had no formal qualification, 21% had a school qualification, 28% had a tertiary certificate or diploma, and 35% have a bachelor’s degree or higher. There are 13 school years and attending state (public) schools is free to New Zealand citizens and permanent residents from a person’s 5th birthday to the end of the calendar year following their 19th birthday.
Science and technology
Non-Māori Polynesian cultures are also apparent, with Pasifika, the world’s largest Polynesian festival, now an annual event in Auckland. Immigrants from India, China and the Philippines are the largest contributors to New Zealand’s population growth. New Zealand is a predominantly urban country, with 84.5% of the population living in urban areas and 51.4% in the seven cities with populations exceeding 100,000. In 1921, the country’s median centre of population was in the Tasman Sea west of Levin in Manawatū-Whanganui; by 2017, it had moved 280 km (170 mi) north to near Kawhia in Waikato.
A developed country, New Zealand was the first to introduce a minimum wage and give women the right to vote. Reflecting this, New Zealand’s culture mainly derives from Māori and early British settlers but has recently broadened from increased immigration. Subsequently, a series of conflicts between the colonial government and Māori tribes resulted in the alienation and confiscation of large amounts of Māori land. The country’s varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps (Kā Tiritiri o te Moana), owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions.
- The Maori called the North Island Aotearoa, a name which is now the most widely known and accepted Maori name for the entire country.
- Geothermal power is also a significant generator of electricity, with several large stations located across the Taupō Volcanic Zone in the North Island.
- Statistics New Zealand allows people to choose multiple ethnicities and reports ethnic data based on total responses, therefore ethnicities add up to more than 100%.
- In 1893, New Zealand was the first nation in the world to grant all women the right to vote and pioneered the adoption of compulsory arbitration between employers and unions in 1894.
- In July 2023, New Zealand and the European Union entered into the EU–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, which eliminated tariffs on several goods traded between the two regions.
- A period of poor economic growth lasted until the mid-1990s, when the government began a program of immigration to boost GDP.
- Since European arrival paintings and photographs have been dominated by landscapes, originally not as works of art but as factual portrayals of New Zealand.
New Zealand administers the South Pacific island group of Tokelau and claims a section of the Antarctic continent. The capital city is Wellington and the largest urban area Auckland; both are located on the North Island. New Zealand is a remote land—one of the last sizable territories suitable for habitation to be populated and settled—and lies more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Australia, its nearest neighbour.
The country has the distinction of being the only one outside the U.S. to hold multiple America’s Cup races, but lost the cup in 2003 to a Swiss team (with a New Zealander skipper). New Zealand hosted the last two competitions for international yacht racing’s top prize, the America’s Cup (2000 and 2003), by virtue of being the home of the winning team in 1995 and 2000. British colonists brought a legal, political, and economic system that has flourished, along with the English system of agriculture that has transformed the landscape.
The population, in slight excess of four million, is similar in size to Costa Rica’s. New Zealand’s total land area, nearly 270,000 km², is about the same as that of Colorado and somewhat smaller than the Philippines. The closest neighbors to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. It is separated from Australia to the northwest by the Tasman Sea, which is some 2,000 km across.
Since human arrival, almost half of the country’s vertebrate species have become extinct, including at least 51 birds, three frogs, three lizards, one freshwater fish, and one bat. More penguin species are found in New Zealand than in any other country, with 13 of the world’s 18 penguin species. The flora and fauna of New Zealand were originally thought to have originated from New Zealand’s fragmentation off from Gondwana; however, more recent evidence postulates species resulted from dispersal.