Background: The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand sometime between A.D. 1250 and 1300. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Great Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. That same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both world wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.

Geographic coordinates: 41 00 S, 174 00 E

Map reference: Oceania

Area
Total: 268,838 km²
Land: 264,537 km²
Water: 4,301 km²
Note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands
Rank: 77
Comparative: almost twice the size of North Carolina; about the size of Colorado

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 15,134 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate: temperate with sharp regional contrasts

Terrain: predominately mountainous with large coastal plains

Elevation
Mean elevation: 388 m
Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
Highest point: Aoraki/Mount Cook 3,724 m; note - the mountains height was 3,764 m until 14 December 1991 when it lost about 10 m in an avalanche of rock and ice; erosion of the ice cap since then has brought the height down another 30 m

Natural resources: natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone

Land use
Agricultural land: 43.2% (2011 est.)
Forest: 31.4% (2011 est.)
Other: 25.4% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 7,210 km² (2012)

Natural hazards: earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activityvolcanism: significant volcanism on North Island; Ruapehu (2,797 m), which last erupted in 2007, has a history of large eruptions in the past century; Taranaki has the potential to produce dangerous avalanches and lahars; other historically active volcanoes include Okataina, Raoul Island, Tongariro, and White Island; see note 2 under 'Geography - note'

Geography
Note: note 1: consists of two main islands and a number of smaller islands; South Island, the larger main island, is the 12th largest island in the world and is divided along its length by the Southern Alps; North Island is the 14th largest island in the world and is not as mountainous, but it is marked by volcanism

Population
Distribution: over three-quarters of New Zealanders, including the indigenous Maori, live on the North Island, primarily in urban areas: 4,925,477 (July 2020 est.)
Rank: 125
Growth rate: 1.44% (2020 est.)
Growth rate rank: 76
Below poverty line note: NA

Nationality
Noun: New Zealander(s)
Adjective: New Zealand

Ethnic groups: European 64.1%, Maori 16.5%, Chinese 4.9%, Indian 4.7%, Samoan 3.9%, Tongan 1.8%, Cook Islands Maori 1.7%, English 1.5%, Filipino 1.5%, New Zealander 1%, other 13.7% (2018 est.)
Note: based on the 2018 census of the usually resident population; percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were able to identify more than one ethnic group

Languages: English (de facto official) 95.4%, Maori (de jure official) 4%, Samoan 2.2%, Northern Chinese 2%, Hindi 1.5%, French 1.2%, Yue 1.1%, New Zealand Sign Language (de jure official) .5%, other or not stated 17.2% (2018 est.)
Note: shares sum to 124.1% due to multiple responses on the 2018 census

Religions: Christian 37.3% (Catholic 10.1%, Anglican 6.8%, Presbyterian and Congregational 5.2%, Pentecostal 1.8%, Methodist 1.6%, Mormon 1.2%, other 10.7%), Hindu 2.7%, Maori 1.3%, Muslim, 1.3%, Buddhist 1.1%, other religion 1.6% (includes Judaism, Spiritualism and New Age religions, Baha'i, Asian religions other than Buddhism), no religion 48.6%, objected to answering 6.7% (2018 est.)
Note: based on the 2018 census of the usually resident population; percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were able to identify more than one religion

Age structure
0-14 years: 19.63% (male 496,802/female 469,853)
15-24 years: 12.92% (male 328,327/female 308,132)
25-54 years: 39.98% (male 996,857/female 972,566)
55-64 years: 11.93% (male 285,989/female 301,692)
65 years and over: 15.54% (male 358,228/female 407,031) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 55.8
Youth dependency ratio: 30.3
Elderly dependency ratio: 25.5
Potential support ratio: 3.9 (2020 est.)

Median age
Total: 37.2 years
Male: 36.4 years
Female: 37.9 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 73

Population growth rate: 1.44% (2020 est.)
Rank: 76

Birth rate: 12.8 births/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 146

Death rate: 6.9 deaths/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 132

Net migration rate: 8 migrant(s)/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 12

Population distribution: over three-quarters of New Zealanders, including the indigenous Maori, live on the North Island, primarily in urban areas

Urbanization
Urban population: 86.7% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 1.01% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 1.607 million Auckland, 415,000 WELLINGTON (capital) (2020)

Environment
Current issues: water quality and availability; rapid urbanisation; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation; native flora and fauna hard-hit by invasive species; negative effects of climate change
International agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: Antarctic Seals, Marine Life Conservation

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
Total population: 1 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 27.8 years (2009 est.)
Note: median age at first birth

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.5 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 3.7 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 3.4 deaths/1000 live births (2020 est.)
Rank: 199

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 82.1 years
Male: 80.4 years
Female: 84 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 22

Total fertility rate: 1.87 children born/woman (2020 est.)
Rank: 136

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 79.9% (2014/15)
Note: percent of women aged 18-45

Drinking water source
Urban: 0% of population
Rural: 0% of population
Total: 0% of population (2017 est.)

Current health expenditure: 9.2% (2017)

Physicians density: 3.47 physicians/1000 population (2017)

Hospital bed density: 2.7 beds/1000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 0% of population
Rural: 0% of population
Total: 0% of population (2017)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate note: <.1% (2019 est.)
People living with hivaids: 3,500 (2019 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 129
Deaths note: <100 (2019 est.)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 30.8% (2016)
Rank: 22

Education expenditures: 6.3% of GDP (2017)
Rank: 23

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 19 years
Male: 18 years
Female: 20 years (2018)

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: New Zealand
Abbreviation: NZ
Etymology: Dutch explorer Abel TASMAN was the first European to reach New Zealand in 1642; he named it Staten Landt, but Dutch cartographers renamed it Nova Zeelandia in 1645 after the Dutch province of Zeeland; British explorer Captain James COOK subsequently anglicized the name to New Zealand when he mapped the islands in 1769

Government type: parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

Capital
Name: Wellington
Geographic coordinates: 41 18 S, 174 47 E
Time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in September; ends first Sunday in April
Note: New Zealand has two time zones: New Zealand standard time (UTC+12) and Chatham Islands time (45 minutes in advance of New Zealand standard time; UTC+12:45)etymology: named in 1840 after Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victorious general at the Battle of Waterloo

Administrative divisions: 16 regions and 1 territory*; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Chatham Islands*, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu-Wanganui, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, Wellington, West Coast

Dependent areas: (3) Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau

Independence: 26 September 1907 (from the UK)

National holiday: Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840); Anzac Day (commemorated as the anniversary of the landing of troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I at Gallipoli, Turkey), 25 April (1915)

Constitution
History: New Zealand has no single constitution document; the Constitution Act 1986, effective 1 January 1987, includes only part of the uncodified constitution; others include a collection of statutes or acts of Parliament, the Treaty of Waitangi, Orders in Council, letters patent, court decisions, and unwritten conventions
Amendments: proposed as bill by Parliament or by referendum called either by the government or by citizens; passage of a bill as an act normally requires two separate readings with committee reviews in between to make changes and corrections, a third reading approved by the House of Representatives membership or by the majority of votes in a referendum, and assent of the governor-general; passage of amendments to reserved constitutional provisions affecting the term of Parliament, electoral districts, and voting restrictions requires approval by 75% of the House membership or the majority of votes in a referendum; amended many times, last in 2014

Legal system: common law system, based on English model, with special legislation and land courts for the Maori

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of New Zealand
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 3 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor-General Dame Patricia Lee REDDY (since 28 September 2016)
Head of government: Prime Minister Jacinda ARDERN (since 26 October 2017); Deputy Prime Minister Grant ROBERTSON (since 2 November 2020)
Cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor-general on the recommendation of the prime minister 
Electionsappointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor-general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor-general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor-general; note - Prime Minister ARDERN heads up a minority coalition government consisting of the Labor and New Zealand First parties with confidence and supply support from the Green Party

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament (120 seats for 2020-23 term); 72 members directly elected in 65 single-seat constituencies and 7 Maori constituencies by simple majority vote and 48 directly elected by closed party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 3-year terms)
Elections: last held on 17 October 2020 (next scheduled for 2023)
Election results: percent of vote by party - Labor Party 49.1%, National Party 26.8%, ACT Party 8%, Green Party 6.3%, Maori Party 1%; seats by party - Labor Party 64, National Party 35, Green Party 10, ACT Party 10, Maori Party 1; composition - men 63, women 57, percent of women 47.5%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of 5 justices, including the chief justice); note - the Supreme Court in 2004 replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) as the final appeals court
Judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the governor-general upon the recommendation of the attorney- general; justices appointed until compulsory retirement at age 70
Subordinate courts: Court of Appeal; High Court; tribunals and authorities; district courts; specialized courts for issues related to employment, environment, family, Maori lands, youth, military; tribunals

Political parties and leaders: ACT New Zealand [David SEYMOUR]Green Party [James SHAW]Mana Movement [Hone HARAWIRA] (formerly Mana Party)Maori Party [Che WILSON and Kaapua SMITH]New Zealand First Party or NZ First [Winston PETERS]New Zealand Labor Party [Jacinda ARDERN]New Zealand National Party [Judith COLLINS]United Future New Zealand [Damian LIGHT]

International organization participation: ADB, ANZUS, APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CD, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), PCA, PIF, SICA (observer), Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Rosemary BANKS (since 11 January 2019)
In the us chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 328-4,800
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 667-5,227
In the us consulate: Honolulu (HI), Los Angeles, New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Scott P. BROWN (since 27 June 2017) note - also accredited to Samoa
From the us telephone: [64] (4) 462-6,000
From the us embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, APO AP 96,531-1034
From the us FAX: [64] (4) 499-0490
From the us consulate: Auckland

Flag description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation

National symbols: Southern Cross constellation (four, five-pointed stars), kiwi (bird), silver fern; national colors: black, white, red (ochre)

National anthem
Name: God Defend New Zealand
Lyricsmusic: Thomas BRACKEN [English], Thomas Henry SMITH [Maori]/John Joseph WOODS
Note: adopted 1940 as national song, adopted 1977 as co-national anthem; New Zealand has two national anthems with equal status; as a commonwealth realm, in addition to 'God Defend New Zealand,' 'God Save the Queen' serves as a national anthem (see United Kingdom); 'God Save the Queen' normally played only when a member of the royal family or the governor-general is present; in all other cases, 'God Defend New Zealand' is played

Real gdp purchasing power parity
Real:
Real note: data are in 2010 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 127

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2010 dollars
Rank: 41

Gross national saving:
Rank: 89

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 57.2% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 18.2% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 23.4% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0.3% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 27% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -26.1% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 5.7% (2017 est.)
Industry: 21.5% (2017 est.)
Services: 72.8% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: dairy products, sheep, beef, poultry, fruit, vegetables, wine, seafood, wheat and barley

Industries: agriculture, forestry, fishing, logs and wood articles, manufacturing, mining, construction, financial services, real estate services, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 1.8% (2017 est.)
Rank: 137

Labor force: 2.709 million (2020 est.)
Rank: 109
By occupation agriculture: 6.6%
By occupation industry: 20.7%
By occupation services: 72.7% (2017 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 63

Population below poverty line
Note: NA

Budget
Revenues: 74.11 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 70.97 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 1.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 21

Taxes and other revenues: 36.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 56

Public debt:
Rank: 162

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Note: this is the fiscal year for tax purposes

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 95

Current account balance:
Rank: 187

Exports:
Rank: 59
Partners: China 22.4%, Australia 16.4%, US 9.9%, Japan 6.1% (2017)
Commodities: dairy products, meat and edible offal, logs and wood articles, fruit, crude oil, wine

Imports:
Rank: 57
Commodities: petroleum and products, mechanical machinery, vehicles and parts, electrical machinery, textiles
Partners: China 19%, Australia 12.1%, US 10.5%, Japan 7.3%, Germany 5.3%, Thailand 4.6% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 58

Debt external:
Rank: 51

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2020)
Production: 42.53 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 56
Consumption: 39.5 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 55
Exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 176
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 179
Installed generating capacity: 9.301 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 63
Generation sources fossil fuels: 23% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 192
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 154
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 58% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 29
Generation sources other renewable sources: 20% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 40

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 24,000 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 64
Crude oil exports: 26,440 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 48
Crude oil imports: 108,900 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 43
Crude oil proven reserves: 51.8 million bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 76

Refined petroleum
Products production: 115,100 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products production rank: 65
Products consumption: 169,100 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products consumption rank: 61
Products exports: 1782 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports rank: 106
Products imports: 56,000 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products imports rank: 76

Natural gas
Production: 5.097 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 51
Consumption: 5.182 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 57
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 161
Imports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 166
Proven reserves: 33.7 billion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 67

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 37.75 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 68

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 1,801,645
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 37.11 (2019 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 60
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 6,550,687
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 134.93 (2019 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 108

Broadcast media: state-owned Television New Zealand operates multiple TV networks and state-owned Radio New Zealand operates 3 radio networks and an external shortwave radio service to the South Pacific region; a small number of national commercial TV and radio stations and many regional commercial television and radio stations are available; cable and satellite TV systems are available, as are a range of streaming services (2019)

Internet
Country code: .nz
Users total: 4,340,672
Users percent of population: 90.81% (July 2018 est.)
Users rank: 91

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 1.647 million
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 34 (2018 est.)
Rank: 59

Military expenditures:
Rank: 83

Military and security forces: New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF): New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force (2020)

Military service age and obligation: 17 years of age for voluntary military service; soldiers cannot be deployed until the age of 18; no conscription (2019)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 15 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 199
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 17,249,049 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 1,349,300,000
Note: mt-km (2018)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: ZK (2016)

Airports: 123 (2013)
Rank: 47
With paved runways total: 39 (2017)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2 (2017)
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1 (2017)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 12 (2017)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 23 (2017)
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2017)
With unpaved runways total: 84 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 33 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 48 (2013)

Pipelines: 331 km condensate, 2,500 km gas, 172 km liquid petroleum gas, 288 km oil, 198 km refined products (2018)

Railways
Total: 4,128 km (2018)
Narrow gauge: 4,128 km
Note: 1.067-m gauge (506 km electrified) (2018)
Rank: 46

Roadways
Total: 94,000 km (2017)
Paved: 61,600 km
Note: (includes 199 km of expressways) (2017)
Unpaved: 32,400 km (2017)
Rank: 53

Merchant marine
Total: 113
By type: general cargo 12, oil tanker 4, other 97 (2019)
Rank: 84

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Auckland, Lyttelton, Manukau Harbor, Marsden Point, Tauranga, Wellington

Disputes international: asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency)

Illicit drugs: significant consumer of amphetamines