Map of New Zealand which lies in the continent of Australia and Oceania
| Official Name | New Zealand |
| Continent | Australia and Oceania |
| Capital | Wellington |
| Largest City | Auckland |
| Coordinates | -41.000000, 174.000000 |
| Area | 103,483 sq. mi ( 268,021 sq. km) |
| Land Boundaries | 0 mi ( 0 km) |
| Coastline | 9,404 mi ( 15,134 km) |
| Currency | New Zealand dollar ($) (NZD) |
| Neighboring Countries | Maritime neighbors: Australia, Fiji, Norfolk Island (AU) |
| Population | 4,699,755 (2018 Census) |
| Official Languages | English, Māori, New Zealand Sign Language |
| Major Religion | Christianity (37.3%), no religion (48.6%) |
| National Day | 6 February (Waitangi Day) |
| National Anthem | “God Defend New Zealand” |
| Form of Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Jacinda Ardern |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $ 42,193.8 (World Bank, 2018) |
| GDP per capita (nominal) | $ 42,330.9 (World Bank, 2018) |
| HDI | 0.921 (2018), Rank: 14 |
| Literacy Rate (%) | NA |
| Space Agency | New Zealand Space Agency (NZSA) |
| Military Expenditure Ranking | 56 (SIPRI, 2018) |
| No. of Olympic Medals | 120 (as of 2018) |
| Driving Side | left |
| Calling Code | 64 |
| Time Zone | UTC+12 (NZST), Summer DST: UTC+13 (NZDT) |
| Internet TLD | .nz |
New Zealand is part of Oceania. It is a group of islands that are in the South Pacific Ocean, to the southeast of Australia (around 2,000 km or 1,200 mi away). It is a part of the Australasia region, together with Australia. In the Polynesia geographic and ethnographic region, it forms the southwestern extremity.
New Zealand spreads across a total area of 103,483 sq. mi (268,021 sq. km). Out of the total, 102,138 sq. mi (264,537 sq. km) is land area and 1,661 sq. mi (4,301 sq. km) is water area. It is important to note that the total area includes the Auckland Islands, Antipodes Islands, Kermadec Islands, Chatham Islands, Campbell Island, and Bounty Islands.
There are two main islands in the landmasses of this island nation, and they are the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu). There are around 600 more small islands in New Zealand. The five largest inhabited islands besides these two islands are Waiheke Island, D’Urville Island, Great Barrier Island, Chatham Island, and Stewart Island.
The country has no land boundaries but a coastline of 9,404 mi (15,134 km). The mean elevation of this island nation is 1,273 ft (388 m). While the highest point is Aoraki/Mount Cook at 12,218 ft (3,724 m), the lowest point is the Pacific Ocean at 0 ft (0 m).
The terrains of New Zealand are predominately mountainous with vast coastal plains. New Zealand’s largest landmass is the South Island. The Southern Alps divides this island along its length. This region consists of 18 peaks that are more than 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) high. Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest peak.
The extensive ice age glaciation is evident in the South Island’s southwestern corner. Hence, the steep mountains and deep fiords are in Fiordland. The North Island is characterized by volcanism and is less mountainous.
A substantial volcanic plateau is formed by the highly active Taupo Volcanic Zone, which is punctuated by Mount Ruapehu (2,797 meters or 9,177 ft). Lake Taupo, the largest lake in the country, is also in the plateau. This lake is in the caldera, which is one of the most active supervolcanoes of the world.
The mountains in New Zealand are Aoraki / Mount Cook (Canterbury), Mount Tasman (West Coast), Mount Dampier (Canterbury), Mount Vancouver (West Coast), Silberhorn (West Coast), Mount Hicks (West Coast), Malte Brun (Canterbury), Mount Lendenfeld (West Coast), Mount Sefton (West Coast), and La Perouse (Canterbury).
The rivers of the country are Waikato (North), Clutha / Matau (South), Whanganui (North), Taieri (South), Rangitikei (North), Mataura (South), Waiau (Southland) (South), Clarence (South), Waitaki (South), and Oreti (South).
The largest lakes are Lake Taupo (Waikato), Lake Te Anau (Southland), Lake Wakatipu (Otago), Lake Wanaka (Otago), Lake Ellesmere (Canterbury), Te Whanga Lagoon (Chatham Island), Lake Pukaki (Canterbury), Lake Manapouri (Southland), Lake Hāwea (Otago), and Lake Tekapo (Canterbury).
New Zealand has a diverse landscape, and that’s why the climatic condition varies from one place to another. There are four distinct climatic conditions found in the country:
During summer, New Zealand generally has subtropical weather, the South Island’s inland alpine areas remain cold (at around -10°C) in winter. However, mild temperatures, abundant sunshine, and moderate rainfall can be experienced in the areas closer to the coast. The average temperature in the far north and the deep south are about 15 °C and 9°C, respectively.
Rainfall spreads evenly across the year, and it remains relatively high (between 640-1500 mm). High precipitation makes the country an ideal location for both farming and horticulture.
December-to-March is the best time to visit New Zealand. The country isn’t in the path of any cyclones. However, occasionally a weakened tropical storm may reach it (usually the North Island and the South Island’s northernmost part).
New Zealand has a highly developed, free-market economy. The people in the country have a relatively high standard of living, thanks to the efficient agriculture sector (primarily sheep and cattle farming). The contribution of the industrial sector to the national economy is almost equal to the agricultural industry.
The annual GDP growth rate was 2.17% in 2019, which fell sharply from 3.76% in 2018. The GDP of New Zealand was US$ 206.9 billion in 2019. On-an-average, 22-25% of the GNP is devoted to investment. The capital per output ratio of the country is relatively high, thus leading to slow growth. In a country where the economy is highly dependent upon agriculture, a reasonably high capital per output ratio is not unusual because of the full productive effect of land-improvement over a long period.
One of the main reasons behind the sluggish growth of New Zealand is that a substantial amount of investment made in the development of the suburbs, housing, and schools. The post-war baby boom has increased the ratio of non-producers in the economy.
The Government of New Zealand has pursued a fiscal and monetary policy that leads to a high level of demand. In turn, this maintains significant pressure on the balance of payments, wages, and prices. The consumer price index (CPI) in June 2020 quarter, when compared to March 2020 quarter has dropped by 0.5%.
In 2018, New Zealand had a negative trade balance of -$817 million as the export value was $40.1 Billion, and the import value was $40.9 billion. The major export items are Concentrated Milk, Sheep & Goat Meat, Butter, Rough Wood, Frozen Bovine Meat, and many more. It mostly trades with China, Australia, the USA, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.
After all the efforts of the Jacinda Ardern led government, poverty and other social menaces, such as spiking youth suicide rates, problems of housing affordability, and drugs remain a problem.
However, the factors that have improved in the last one year are boosting employment & household incomes, improved treatment of those on welfare, and reduction in teen pregnancy.
New Zealand’s main transportation system is the road infrastructure, which includes the state highway network. The total roadway network is 58,409 mi (94,000 km) long, out of which 38,276 mi (61,600 km) is paved and 20,132 mi (32,400 km) is unpaved. Out of the total paved roadways, 124 mi (199 km) is expressways.
The state highway network in the country is 6,770 mi (10,895 km) long, out of which 3,712 mi (5,974 km) is in the North Island and 3,058 mi (4,921 km) in the South Island. Around half of the total road traffic of New Zealand uses the state highways.
There are 123 airports in the country, out of which 39 have paved runways, and the rest 84 have unpaved runways. The busiest airports in New Zealand are Auckland Airport (Auckland), Christchurch International Airport Christchurch), Wellington International Airport (Wellington), Queenstown Airport (Queenstown), Dunedin Airport (Dunedin), Nelson Airport (Nelson), Hawkes Bay Airport (Napier), Palmerston North Airport (Palmerston North), Tauranga Airport (Tauranga), New Plymouth Airport (New Plymouth), Hamilton Airport (Hamilton), Invercargill Airport (Invercargill), Blenheim Airport (Blenheim), and Rotorua Airport (Rotorua).
There is around 2,565 mi (4,128 km) extended railway network, and all of them are narrow gauge, out of which just 506 km (314 mi) is electric. New Zealand has 113 merchant ships – 12 general cargo, four oil tankers, and 97 other vessels).
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