New Zealand

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

New Zealand
Aotearoa  (Māori)

Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "God Defend New Zealand"
"God Save the Queen"¹


Capital Wellington
174°27′E / 41.283°S 174.45°E / -41.283; 174.45
Largest city Auckland²
Official language(s) English (98%)³
Māori (4.2%)³
NZ Sign Language (0.6%)³
Ethnic groups  78% European/Other⁴
14.6% Māori⁴
9.2% Asian⁴
6.9% Pacific peoples⁴
Demonym New Zealander,
Kiwi (colloquial)
Government Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy
 -  Head of State HM Queen Elizabeth II
 -  Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand
 -  Prime Minister John Key
 -  Speaker Dr Lockwood Smith
 -  Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias
Independence from the United Kingdom 
 -  1st Parliament 25 May 1854⁵ 
 -  Dominion 26 September 1907⁵ 
 -  Statute of Westminster 11 December 1931 (adopted 25 November 1947) 
 -  Constitution Act 1986 13 December 1986 
Area
 -  Total 268,021 km² (74th)
103,483 sq mi 
 -  Water (%) 2.1
Population
 -  2010 estimate 4,361,673[1] (123rd)
 -  2006 census 4,027,947⁶ 
 -  Density 16.1/km² (201st)
41.6/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2008 estimate
 -  Total $115.809 billion[2] (60)
 -  Per capita $27,083[2] (34)
GDP (nominal) 2008 estimate
 -  Total $128.409 billion[2] (54)
 -  Per capita $30,030[2] (28)
Gini (1997) 36.2 (medium) 
HDI (2009) ▲ 0.950[3] (very high) (20th)
Currency New Zealand dollar (NZD)
Time zone NZST⁷ (UTC+12)
 -  Summer (DST) NZDT (UTC+13)
(Sep to Apr)
Date formats dd/mm/yyyy
Drives on the left
Internet TLD .nz⁸
Calling code +64
¹ "God Save the Queen" is officially a national anthem but is generally used only on regal and vice-regal occasions. [4][5]
² Auckland is the largest urban area; Auckland City is the largest incorporated city.
³ Percentages add to more than 100% because some people speak more than one language. They exclude unusable responses and those who spoke no language (e.g. too young to talk).[6]
⁴ Percentages add to more than 100% because some people identify with more than one ethnic group.[7]
⁵ There is a multitude of dates that could be considered to mark independence (see Independence of New Zealand).
⁶ Number of people who usually live in New Zealand.[8]
⁷ The Chatham Islands have a separate time zone, 45 minutes ahead of the rest of New Zealand.
⁸ The territories of Niue, the Cook Islands and Tokelau have their own cctlds, .nu, .ck and .tk respectively.

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island), and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori language name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing but in free association); Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica).

New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation: it is situated about 2,000 km (1250 miles) southeast of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and its closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. During its long isolation New Zealand developed a distinctive fauna dominated by birds, a number of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and the mammals they introduced.

The majority of New Zealand's population is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority. Asians and non-Māori Polynesians are also significant minority groups, especially in urban areas. The most commonly spoken language is English.

New Zealand is a developed country that ranks highly in international comparisons on human development, quality of life, life expectancy, literacy, public education, peace,[9] prosperity, economic freedom, ease of doing business, lack of corruption, press freedom, and the protection of civil liberties and political rights.[10] Its cities also consistently rank among the world's most liveable.

Elizabeth II, as the Queen of New Zealand, is the country's head of state and is represented by a ceremonial Governor-General who holds reserve powers.[11] The Queen has no real political influence, and her position is essentially symbolic. Political power is held by the democratically elected Parliament of New Zealand under the leadership of the Prime Minister, who is the head of government.

Etymology

It is unknown whether Māori had a name for New Zealand as a whole before the arrival of Europeans, although they referred to the North Island as Te Ika a Māui (the fish of Māui) and the South Island as Te Wai Pounamu (the waters of greenstone) or Te Waka o Aoraki (the canoe of Aoraki).[12] Until the early 20th century, the North Island was also referred to as Aotearoa (colloquially translated "land of the long white cloud");[13] in modern Māori usage, this name refers to the whole country. Aotearoa is also commonly used in this sense in New Zealand English, where it is sometimes used alone, and in some formal uses combined with the English name to express respect to the original inhabitants of the country, for example in the form of "[Organisation name] of Aotearoa New Zealand".

The first European name for New Zealand was Staten Landt, the name given to it by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who in 1642 became the first European to see the islands. Tasman assumed it was part of a southern continent connected with land discovered in 1615 off the southern tip of South America by Jacob Le Maire, which had been named Staten Landt, meaning "Land of the (Dutch) States-General".[14][15]