New Zealand History, Map, Flag, Capital, Population, & Facts
It also forms the southwestern extremity of the geographic and ethnographic region called Polynesia. New Zealand is part of Zealandia, a microcontinent nearly half the size of Australia that gradually submerged after breaking away from the Gondwanan supercontinent. The country owes its varied topography, and perhaps even its emergence above the waves, to the dynamic boundary it straddles between the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates. The highly active Taupō Volcanic Zone has formed a large volcanic plateau, punctuated by the North Island’s highest mountain, Mount Ruapehu (2,797 metres (9,177 ft)). The closest point between any territory of both countries is between Macquarie Island (Australia) and Auckland Island (New Zealand), which are about 618 kilometers (384 miles) apart.
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. Smaller islands include Stewart Island, which lies south of South Island; Waiheke and Great Barrier islands, near the north end of North Island; and the Chatham Islands, more than 800 km east of South Island. Despite New Zealand’s isolation, the country has been fully engaged in international affairs since the early 20th century, being an active member of a number of intergovernmental institutions, including the United Nations.
It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the whole country before the arrival of Europeans; Aotearoa originally referred to just the North Island. The next year, in 1643, Hendrik Brouwer proved that the South American land was just a small island, and Dutch cartographers subsequently renamed Tasman’s discovery Nova Zeelandia from Latin, after the Dutch province of Zeeland. New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes. It retains visible levels of inequality, including structural disparities between its Māori and European populations. Recognised as a middle power, New Zealand ranks very highly in international measures of quality of life and human rights and has one of the lowest levels of perceived corruption in the world.
- Those of full or part-Maori ancestry comprise about 15 percent while most of the remainder are of Asian and Pacific Island origin.
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- It is the sole home, for example, of the long-beaked, flightless kiwi, the ubiquitous nickname for New Zealanders.
- 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.
- Canterbury offers a glimpse at New Zealand’s rural heritage, with the stunning Southern Alps down the centre of the region.
- 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
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The number of overseas students receiving education in New Zealand expanded dramatically and the importance of “export education” to the national economy rivaled that of other more established industries. During the 1990s, tourism became the country’s leading earner of foreign exchange. Primary export industries are agriculture (sheep, cattle, dairy), horticulture (apples, kiwifruit), fishing, and forestry. New Zealand is dependent on trade—particularly in agricultural products—and has been affected by global economic slowdowns and slumps in commodity prices.
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.
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.
The All Blacks perform a traditional Maori war dance, or haka, before the start of international matches. The country’s national sporting colors are black and white, and the silver fern is a national emblem. The national rugby team, the All Blacks, has the best winning record of any national team in the world, including being the inaugural winner of the 1987 Rugby Union World Cup. The British brought the Protestant work ethic—the industrious newcomers astonished Maori people.
After 1840, many issues to do with sovereignty and land ownership remained unresolved and, for a long time, invisible while Maori lived in rural communities. British migrants form the largest single group (30 percent), but new migrants are drawn from many nations, increasingly those of East Asia. Those of full or part-Maori ancestry comprise about 15 percent while most of the remainder are of Asian and Pacific Island origin. Vineyards have proliferated since the 1990s in areas of the country, with a focus on high-quality sauvignon blanc and pinot noir.
- He named that area Murderers’ Bay, and called the country Staten Landt.
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- 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.
- The Treaty of Waitangi was concluded between the British government and Maori chiefs in early 1840.
- For instance, in 2016, Auckland was ranked the world’s third most liveable city and Wellington the twelfth by the Mercer Quality of Living Survey.
- Immigrants from India, China and the Philippines are the largest contributors to New Zealand’s population growth.
But unresolved disputes over land ownership and sovereignty led to a series of armed clashes, known as the Maori Wars, the NZ Wars, or the Land Wars, which continued until 1872. The Treaty of Waitangi was concluded between the British government and Maori chiefs in early 1840. The first Europeans to live in New Zealand were seamen who jumped ship, convicts who had escaped from British penal colonies in Australia, sealers, whalers, and traders. In the same year as Cook’s first visit, French explorer Jean de Surville conducted the first Christian service in New Zealand waters on Christmas Day. He recognized the relationship between the Maori and the Tahitian people his expedition had already visited. This was changed by Dutch cartographers to Nova Zeelandia, after the Dutch province of Zeeland.
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.
New Zealand is heavily dependent on international trade, particularly in agricultural products. Since 1984, successive governments engaged in major macroeconomic restructuring (known first as Rogernomics and then Ruthanasia), rapidly transforming New Zealand from a protectionist and highly regulated economy to a liberalised free-trade economy. According to the 2024 Global Peace Index, New Zealand is the 4th most peaceful country in the world. New Zealand is involved in the Pacific Islands Forum, the Pacific Community, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (including the East Asia Summit). A large proportion of New Zealand’s aid goes to these countries, and many Pacific people migrate to New Zealand for employment. In 2013update there were about 650,000 New Zealand citizens living in Australia, which is equivalent to 15% of the population of New Zealand.
Economy
Its exclusive economic zone is one of the world’s largest, covering more than 15 times its land area. The nearest continent is Australia to the west north west, with the shortest distance between the Australian and New Zealand mainlands being roughly 1,487 kilometers (924 miles) across the Tasman Sea, specifically between Tasmania and Fiordland. In 1947, New Zealand adopted the Statute of Westminster, confirming that the British Parliament could no longer legislate for the country without its consent. In 1886, New Zealand annexed the volcanic Kermadec Islands, about 1,000 km (620 mi) northeast of Auckland. Following these armed conflicts, large areas of Māori land were confiscated by the government betista casino login to meet settler demands. Armed conflict began between the colonial government and Māori in 1843 with the Wairau Affray over land and disagreements over sovereignty.
Land
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.
New Zealand Economy
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.
The northern and northeastern parts of the South Island are the sunniest areas of the country and receive about 2,400–2,500 hours. Elsewhere, the plate boundary involves the subduction of one plate under the other, producing the Puysegur Trench to the south, the Hikurangi Trough east of the North Island, and the Kermadec and Tonga Trenches further north. The two main islands (the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu) are separated by Cook Strait, 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide at its narrowest point. New Zealand is near the centre of the water hemisphere and is made up of two main islands and more than 700 smaller islands. After the 1982 UNCLOS, the islands contributed significantly to New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone. According to most Māori oral traditions, the islands were first discovered by the semi-legendary explorer Kupe while in pursuit of a giant octopus.
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 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.
The country’s isolation delayed the influence of European artistic trends allowing local artists to develop their own distinctive style of regionalism. Since European arrival paintings and photographs have been dominated by landscapes, originally not as works of art but as factual portrayals of New Zealand. As part of the resurgence of Māori culture, the traditional crafts of carving and weaving are now more widely practised, and Māori artists are increasing in number and influence. The largely rural life in early New Zealand led to the image of New Zealanders as rugged, industrious problem solvers. However, Māori still regard their allegiance to tribal groups as a vital part of their identity, and Māori kinship roles resemble those of other Polynesian peoples.
The Gallipoli campaign played an important part in fostering New Zealand’s national identity and strengthened the ANZAC tradition it shares with Australia. The country fought in both world wars, with notable campaigns in Gallipoli, Crete, El Alamein, and Cassino. New Zealand’s military services—the New Zealand Defence Force—comprise the Royal New Zealand Navy, the New Zealand Army and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Since 2012, New Zealand has had a partnership arrangement with NATO under the Partnership Interoperability Initiative.
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.
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.