New Zealand

New Zealand

 
Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia

Area

Note: Includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands

Land Boundaries

0 km

Coastline

15,134 km

Maritime Claims

International Disputes

Territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency)

Climate

Temperate with sharp regional contrasts

Terrain

Predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Cook 3,764 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

2,800 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment

Note: About 80% of the population lives in cities

PEOPLE

Population

3,547,983 (July 1996 est.)
3,407,277 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

23% (male 420,900; female 400,159) (July 1996 est.)
23% (male 401,285; female 381,027) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

65% (male 1,161,522; female 1,154,536) (July 1996 est.)
65% (male 1,111,079; female 1,109,402) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

12% (male 177,182; female 233,684) (July 1996 est.)
12% (male 170,145; female 234,339) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

1.12% (1996 est.)
0.52% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

15.78 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
15.14 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

7.72 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
8.03 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

3.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
-1.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

6.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
8.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

2.01 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.99 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Languages

English (official), Maori

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1980 est.)

Labor Force

1,634,500 (September 1995)

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Abbreviation

NZ

Digraph

NZ

Type

Parliamentary democracy

Capital

Wellington

Administrative Divisions

93 counties, 9 districts*, and 3 town districts**; Akaroa, Amuri, Ashburton, Bay of Islands, Bruce, Buller, Chatham Islands, Cheviot, Clifton, Clutha, Cook, Dannevirke, Egmont, Eketahuna, Ellesmere, Eltham, Eyre, Featherston, Franklin, Golden Bay, Great Barrier Island, Grey, Hauraki Plains, Hawera*, Hawke's Bay, Heathcote, Hikurangi**, Hobson, Hokianga, Horowhenua, Hurunui, Hutt, Inangahua, Inglewood, Kaikoura, Kairanga, Kiwitea, Lake, Mackenzie, Malvern, Manaia**, Manawatu, Mangonui, Maniototo, Marlborough, Masterton, Matamata, Mount Herbert, Ohinemuri, Opotiki, Oroua, Otamatea, Otorohanga*, Oxford, Pahiatua, Paparua, Patea, Piako, Pohangina, Raglan, Rangiora*, Rangitikei, Rodney, Rotorua*, Runanga, Saint Kilda, Silverpeaks, Southland, Stewart Island, Stratford, Strathallan, Taranaki, Taumarunui, Taupo, Tauranga, Thames-Coromandel*, Tuapeka, Vincent, Waiapu, Waiheke, Waihemo, Waikato, Waikohu, Waimairi, Waimarino, Waimate, Waimate West, Waimea, Waipa, Waipawa*, Waipukurau*, Wairarapa South, Wairewa, Wairoa, Waitaki, Waitomo*, Waitotara, Wallace, Wanganui, Waverley**, Westland, Whakatane*, Whangarei, Whangaroa, Woodville

Note: There may be a new administrative structure of 16 regions (Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, Wanganui-Manawatu, Wellington, West Coast) that are subdivided into 57 districts and 16 cities* (Ashburton, Auckland*, Banks Peninsula, Buller, Carterton, Central Hawke's Bay, Central Otago, Christchurch*, Clutha, Dunedin*, Far North, Franklin, Gisborne, Gore, Grey, Hamilton*, Hastings, Hauraki, Horowhenua, Hurunui, Hutt*, Invercargill*, Kaikoura, Kaipara, Kapiti Coast, Kawerau, Mackenzie, Manawatu, Manukau*, Marlborough, Masterton, Matamata Piako, Napier*, Nelson*, New Plymouth, North Shore*, Opotiki, Otorohanga, Palmerston North*, Papakura*, Porirua*, Queenstown Lakes, Rangitikei, Rodney, Rotorua, Ruapehu, Selwyn, Southland, South Taranaki, South Waikato, South Wairarapa, Stratford, Tararua, Tasman, Taupo, Tauranga, Thames Coromandel, Timaru, Upper Hutt*, Waikato, Waimakariri, Waimate, Waipa, Wairoa, Waitakere*, Waitaki, Waitomo, Wanganui, Wellington*, Western Bay of Plenty, Westland, Whakatane, Whangarei)

Dependent Areas

Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau

Independence

26 September 1907 (from U.K.)

National Holiday

Waitangi Day, 6 February (1840) (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty)

Constitution

No formal, written constitution; consists of various documents, including certain acts of the U.K. and New Zealand Parliaments; Constitution Act 1986 was to have come into force 1 January 1987, but has not been enacted

Legal System

Based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for Maoris; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

Legislative Branch

Unicameral

House of Representatives

(commonly called Parliament) elections last held 6 November 1993 (next to be held NA November 1996); results - NP 35.2%, NZLP 34.7%, Alliance 18.3%, New Zealand First 8.3%; seats - (99 total) NP 50, NZLP 45, Alliance 2, New Zealand First Party 2

Judicial Branch

High Court, Court of Appeal

Political Parties and Leaders

National Party (NP, government), James BOLGER; New Zealand Labor Party (NZLP, opposition), Helen CLARK; Alliance, Jim ANDERTON; Democratic Party, Dick RYAN; New Zealand Liberal Party, Hanmish MACINTYRE and Gilbert MYLES; Green Party, no official leader; Mana Motuhake, Sandra LEE; Socialist Unity Party (SUP, pro-Soviet), leader NA; New Zealand First, Winston PETERS; United New Zealand (UNZ), Clive MATTHEWSON; Conservative Party (formerly Right of Centre Party), Trevor ROGERS; Association of Consumers and Taxpayers, New Zealand (ACT), Richard PREBBLE; Christian Democrats, Graeme LEE; Christian Heritage Party (CH), Rev. Graham CAPILL

Note: The New Zealand Liberal, New Labor, Democratic, and Mana Motuhake parties formed a coalition called the Alliance Party in September 1991; the Green Party joined the coalition in May 1992; the National Party government formed a coalition with the United New Zealand Party in February 1996; the coalition will be valid through the 1996 elections

Member of

ANZUS (U.S. suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MTCR, NAM (guest), OECD, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

National Anthem

Flag

Blue with the flag of the U.K. 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

ECONOMY

Overview

Since 1984 the government has been reorienting an agrarian economy dependent on a guaranteed British market toward a more industrialized, open, free market economy that can compete on the global scene. The government has hoped that dynamic growth would boost real incomes, broaden and deepen the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, reduce inflationary pressures, and permit the expansion of welfare benefits. The initial results were mixed: inflation is down from double-digit levels, but growth was sluggish in 1988-91. In 1992-93, growth picked up to 3% annually, a sign that the new economic approach was beginning to pay off. Business confidence strengthened in 1994, and export demand picked up in the Asia-Pacific region, resulting in 6.2% growth. Growth continued strong in 1995, and inflation remains among the lowest in the industrial world. The government announced its first budget surplus in 16 years in FY94/95 and forecasts a surplus of $5.0 billion in FY97/98. The government intends to use the surplus to reduce the debt, increase social spending, and cut taxes - by $1.35 billion over two years beginning in 1996. Per capita GDP now is up to the levels of the big West European economies.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $62.3 billion (1995 est.), $56.4 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

5.5% (1995 est.)
6.2% (1994)

National Product Per Capita

$18,300 (1995 est.)
$16,640 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

2% (FY95/96)
1.6% (FY93/94)

Unemployment Rate

6.1% (October 1995)
7.5% (December 1994)

Budget

Note: Surplus $120 million (FY94/95)

Exports

$13.41 billion (1995)
$11.2 billion (1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$13.62 billion (1995)
$10.4 billion (1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$38.5 billion (September 1994)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 1.9% (1990); accounts for 25.9% of GDP

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

Accounts for 7.3% of GDP and 10.4% of the work force; livestock predominates - wool, meat, dairy products all export earners; crops - wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; surplus producer of farm products; fish catch reached a record 503,000 metric tons in 1988

Economic Aid

Currency

1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents

Exchange Rates

New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1 - 1.5138 (January 1996), 1.5235 (1995), 1.6844 (1994), 1.8495 (1993), 1.8584 (1992), 1.7265 (1991), 1.6750 (1990)

Fiscal Year

1 July - 30 June

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland Waterways

1,609 km; of little importance to transportation

Pipelines

Petroleum products 160 km; natural gas 1,000 km; condensate (liquified petroleum gas - LPG) 150 km

Ports

Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Tauranga, Wellington

Merchant Marine

Airports

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

1.7 million telephones (1986 est.); excellent international and domestic systems

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 927,212; males fit for military service 780,976; males reach military age (20) annually 27,433 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $556 million, 1% of GDP (FY93/94), $792 million, 2% of GDP (FY90/91)

History
World Atlas