About 82% of New Zealand’s indigenous vascular plants are endemic, covering 1,944 species across 65 genera. Physical isolation has caused biological isolation, resulting in a dynamic evolutionary ecology with examples of distinctive plants and animals as well as populations of widespread species. Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch all receive a yearly average of more than 2,000 hours of sunshine. Of the seven largest cities, Christchurch is the driest, receiving on average only 618 millimetres (24.3 in) of rain per year. Conditions vary sharply across regions, from extremely wet on the West Coast of the South Island to semi-arid in Central Otago and the Mackenzie Basin of inland Canterbury and subtropical in Northland.
In September 2020 Statistics New Zealand reported that the population had climbed above 5 million people in September 2019, according to population estimates based on the 2018 census.n 9 The road and rail networks in the two main islands are linked by roll-on/roll-off ferries between Wellington and Picton, operated by Interislander (part of KiwiRail) and Bluebridge. In the year to June 2018, dairy products accounted for 17.7% ($14.1 billion) of total exports, and the country’s largest company, Fonterra, controls almost one-third of the international dairy trade. The increase of this since the 1960s led to the formation of the Pasifika New Zealander pan-ethnic group, the fourth-largest ethnic grouping in the country.
- However, the 2008 financial crisis had a major effect on New Zealand, with the GDP shrinking for five consecutive quarters, the longest recession in over thirty years, and unemployment rising back to 7% in late 2009.
- The Realm of New Zealand, one of 15 Commonwealth realms, is the entire area over which the king or queen of New Zealand is sovereign and comprises New Zealand, Tokelau, the Ross Dependency, the Cook Islands, and Niue.
- 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.
- However, British inability to protect the country from Japanese aggression in World War II began a period of American influence.
- He recognized the relationship between the Maori and the Tahitian people his expedition had already visited.
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- New Zealand administers the South Pacific island group of Tokelau and claims a section of the Antarctic continent.
- New Zealand’s geographic isolation for 80 million years and island biogeography has influenced evolution of the country’s species of animals, fungi and plants.
- For legacy systems which can only accept one ethnicity, people are usually allocated to a single ethnicity based on a pre-determined priority order, with Māori given highest priority and New Zealand European given lowest priority.
- The South Island is a true delight, and we will definitely be back to visit.
- It is also called Aotearoa or the “Land of the Long White Cloud” in the language of the Maori (rhymes with “dowry”), the Polynesian people who settled the islands four centuries before the first Europeans arrived.
- The first people to reach New Zealand were Polynesians in ocean going waka, who are believed to have arrived in several waves between about 1280 and 1350.
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.
New Zealand participated at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1912 as a joint team with Australia, before first participating on its own in 1920. The Polynesian sport of waka ama racing has experienced a resurgence of interest in New Zealand since the 1980s. New Zealand is known for its extreme sports, adventure tourism and strong mountaineering tradition, as seen in the success of notable New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary summiting Mount Everest first. Golf, netball, tennis and cricket have the highest rates of adult participation, while netball, rugby union and football (soccer) are particularly popular among young people. A hāngī is a traditional Māori method of cooking food using heated rocks buried in a pit oven that is still used for large groups on special occasions, such as tangihanga. New Zealand yields produce from land and sea—most crops and livestock, such as maize, potatoes and pigs, were gradually introduced by the early European settlers.
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.
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A massive mountain chain, the Southern Alps, runs almost the length of the South Island. What is the capital of New Zealand? What is the current weather in New Zealand? Because of its numerous harbours and fjords, the country has an extremely long coastline relative to its area. The country has slightly less surface area than the U.S. state of Colorado and a little more than the United Kingdom. Minority rights and race-related issues continue to play an important role in New Zealand politics.
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 betista casino login 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.
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New Zealand’s population increased at a rate of 1.9% per year in the seven years ended June 2020. The 2023 New Zealand census enumerated a resident population of 4,993,923, an increase of 6.3% over the 2018 census figure. The New Zealand Space Agency was created by the government in 2016 for space policy, regulation and sector development. The country’s railways were privatised in 1993 but were re-nationalised by the government in stages between 2004 and 2008.
In the mid-1980s New Zealand deregulated its agricultural sector by phasing out subsidies over a three-year period. Living standards in New Zealand fell behind those of Australia and Western Europe, and by 1982 New Zealand had the lowest per-capita income of all the developed nations surveyed by the World Bank. In 1973, New Zealand’s export market was reduced when the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community and other compounding factors, such as the 1973 oil and 1979 energy crises, led to a severe economic depression. High demand for agricultural products from the United Kingdom and the United States helped New Zealanders achieve higher living standards than both Australia and Western Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. The first shipment of refrigerated meat on the Dunedin in 1882 led to the establishment of meat and dairy exports to Britain, a trade which provided the basis for strong economic growth in New Zealand. Historically, extractive industries have contributed strongly to New Zealand’s economy, focusing at different times on sealing, whaling, flax, gold, kauri gum, and native timber.
New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy, although its constitution is not codified. Marine mammals are abundant, with almost half the world’s cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) and large numbers of fur seals reported in New Zealand waters. Three species of bats (one since extinct) were the only sign of native land mammals in New Zealand until the 2006 discovery of bones from a unique, mouse-sized land mammal at least 16 million years old. Much of the remaining forest fell after European settlement, being logged or cleared to make room for pastoral farming, leaving forest occupying only 23% of the land in 1997. Before humans arrived, an estimated 80% of the land was covered in forest, with only high alpine, wet, infertile and volcanic areas without trees. The two main types of forest are those dominated by broadleaf trees with emergent podocarps, or by southern beech in cooler climates.
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However, British inability to protect the country from Japanese aggression in World War II began a period of American influence. Since then, the country has been a sovereign constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations. Full independence was granted with the Statute of Westminster in 1931, which was adopted by the New Zealand parliament in 1947. The discovery of gold on South Island in 1861 sparked concerns that settlers there would form a separate colony, so in 1865 the capital was moved to the more central city of Wellington. His Constitution Act of 1853 set up a national system of representative government and a prime minister. New Zealand was initially administered as a part of the colony of New South Wales.
The 1923 and 1926 Imperial Conferences decided that New Zealand should be allowed to negotiate its own political treaties, and the first commercial treaty was ratified in 1928 with Japan. During the period of the New Zealand colony, Britain was responsible for external trade and foreign relations. The Ross Dependency is New Zealand’s territorial claim in Antarctica, where it operates the Scott Base research facility.
It is also called Aotearoa or the “Land of the Long White Cloud” in the language of the Maori (rhymes with “dowry”), the Polynesian people who settled the islands four centuries before the first Europeans arrived. New Zealand is an island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country comprises two main islands—the North and the South Island—and a number of small islands, some of them hundreds of miles from the main group. New Zealand, island country in the South Pacific Ocean, the southwesternmost part of Polynesia. New Zealand’s population today is concentrated to the north of the country, with around 76.4% of the population living in the North Island and 23.6% in the South Island as of June 2025. New Zealand conservationists have pioneered several methods to help threatened wildlife recover, including island sanctuaries, pest control, wildlife translocation, fostering, and ecological restoration of islands and other protected areas.
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Queenstown is the ideal hub for your South Island adventure. Let New Zealand’s natural beauty inspire your next adventure! What current events are happening in New Zealand? How big is the New Zealand economy?
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.
In Northland you can swim with Dolphins, or jump off New Zealand’s tallest building, the Sky Tower, in Auckland If thrillseeking is what you are after there’s options galore in every corner of the country. Canterbury offers a glimpse at New Zealand’s rural heritage, with the stunning Southern Alps down the centre of the region. No South Island trip would be complete without experiencing dramatic mountains rising straight out of the water in the breathtaking Marlborough Sounds. In Rotorua you can delve into the heart of Maori culture, or be the first in the world to see the sun in Gisborne. Did we mention the wine rich region of Marlborough and the bread basket of the country, the sunny Hawkes Bay?
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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.
A 2017 human rights report by the United States Department of State noted that the New Zealand government generally respected the rights of individuals, but voiced concerns regarding the social status of the Māori population. New Zealand’s geographic isolation for 80 million years and island biogeography has influenced evolution of the country’s species of animals, fungi and plants. Snowfall is common in the eastern and southern parts of the South Island and mountain areas across the country.
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.