General facts 3 land and recources 4

New Zealand

1. 
   GENERAL FACTS 3
   
2. 
   LAND AND RECOURCES 4
   
   1. 
      Climate 4
      
   2. 
      Drainage 4
      
   3. 
      Plant and Animal Life 4
      
   4. 
      Resources 5
      
3. 
   GOVERNMENT 6
   
4. 
   NEW ZEALAND CITIES 6
   
5. 
   ECONOMY ACTIVIYIES 8
   
   1. 
      Agriculture 8
      
   2. 
      Mining, Manufacturing, and Services 8
      
   3. 
      Fishing and Forestry 9
      
   4. 
      Power 9
      
   5. 
      Transportation 9
      
   6. 
      Trade 9
      
6. 
   PEOPLE 10
   
   1. 
      Demography 10
      
   2. 
      Education and Health 10
      
   3. 
      The Arts 11
      
7. 
   EVERYDAY LIFE 12
   
   1. 
      Marriage and Family 12
      
   2. 
      Socializing 12
      
   3. 
      Recreation 12
      
   4. 
      Holidays and Celebrations 13
      
   5. 
      Eating 13
      
   6. 
      New Zealand cuisine 14
      

RESOURCES 15

Area: 269,057 km² (103,883 mi²)

Capital: Wellington (1989 est. pop., 135,400)

Largest city: Auckland (1989 est. pop.: city proper, 10,000; metropolitan area, 930,800)

Population (1991 est.): 3,500,000

Density:13 person per km² (34 per mi²)

Annual growth (1991): 0,9%

Official language: English

Major religion: Christianity

Type: parliamentary democracy.

Legislature: House of Representatives (Parliament)

Political subdivisions: 93 countries, 9 districts, 3 town districts

New Zealand, an island nation in the middle latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere, is the most physically isolated of the advanced industrialized countries. Its nearest neighbor, Australia, is some 1,900 km (1,200 mi) to the northeast. New Zealand is bordered by the Tasman Sea on the west and the South Pacific Ocean on the east. The country is about the size of Colorado and larger than Great Britain. It comprises two main islands, the North Island (114,469 km² / 44,197 mi²) and the South Island (150,660 km² / 58,170 mi²); Stewart Island (1,750 km² / 676 mi²); and numerous tiny islands and islets, including the Antipodes Islands and the Auckland Islands. In addition, New Zealand administers the Ross Dependency in Antarctica and the Tokelau Islands. Niue and the Cook Islands are self-governing, but New Zealand manages their external affairs and their residents are citizens of New Zealand.

The Maoris, a Polynesian people, reached the islands in about AD 900. The Dutch were first Europeans to arrive, in 1642, but the area remained relatively unknown until the arrival of Capt. James Cook in 1769. The Treaty of Waitangi (1840) ceded sovereignty of the area to Great Britain while granting the Maoris continued possession of their lands and other holdings. New Zealand became a self-governing dominion within the British Empire in 1907 and an independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations in 1947.

Although New Zealand is an isolated land, its foreign policy is not isolationist. It retains close ties to Great Britain and plays an increasing role in Pacific affairs.