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| Introduction | New Zealand |
| Background: | The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In 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. |
| People | New Zealand |
| Population: | 3,993,817 (July 2004 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 21.7% (male 443,211; female 422,507) 15-64 years: 66.7% (male 1,337,383; female 1,325,683) 65 years and over: 11.6% (male 203,084; female 261,949) (2004 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 33.4 years male: 32.6 years female: 34.1 years (2004 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 1.05% (2004 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 14.04 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Death rate: | 7.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 4.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 5.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 6.83 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 78.49 years male: 75.5 years female: 81.61 years (2004 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.1% (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 1,400 (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | less than 200 (2003 est.) |
| Nationality: | noun: New Zealander(s) adjective: New Zealand |
| Ethnic groups: | New Zealand European 74.5%, Maori 9.7%, other European 4.6%, Pacific Islander 3.8%, Asian and others 7.4% |
| Religions: | Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%, Methodist 5%, Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none 33% (1986) |
| Languages: | English (official), Maori (official) |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1980 est.) male: NA female: NA |
| Government | New Zealand |
| Country name: | conventional long form: none conventional short form: New Zealand abbreviation: NZ |
| Government type: | parliamentary democracy |
| Capital: | Wellington |
| Administrative divisions: | 13 regions; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne-Hawke's Bay, Manawatu-Wanganui, Nelson-Marlborough, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Waikato, Wellington, West Coast |
| Dependent areas: | Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau |
| Independence: | 26 September 1907 (from UK) |
| National holiday: | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
| Constitution: | consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments and The Constitution Act 1986 which is the principal formal charter |
| Legal system: | based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for the Maori; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Silvia CARTWRIGHT (since 4 April 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Helen CLARK (since 10 December 1999) and Deputy Prime Minister Michael CULLEN (since NA July 2002) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament (120 seats; 69 members elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies including 7 Maori constituencies, and 51 proportional seats chosen from party lists, all to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 27 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NZLP 52, NP 27, NZFP 13, ACT New Zealand 9, Green Party 9, UF 8, other 2 |
| Judicial branch: | High Court; Court of Appeal |
| Political parties and leaders: | ACT New Zealand [Richard PREBBLE]; Green Party [Jeanette FITZSIMONS and Rod DONALD]; National Party or NP [Don BRASH]; New Zealand First Party or NZFP [Winston PETERS]; New Zealand Labor Party or NZLP [Helen CLARK]; Progressive Coalition [James (Jim) ANDERTON]; United Future or UF [Peter DUNNE] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA |
| International organization participation: | ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISET, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador L. John WOOD consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York FAX: [1] (202) 667-5227 telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800 chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Charles J. SWINDELLS embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, APO AP 96531-1034 telephone: [64] (4) 462-6000 FAX: [64] (4) 499-0490 consulate(s) general: 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 |
| Communications | New Zealand |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 1.765 million (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 2.599 million (2003) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: excellent domestic and international systems domestic: NA international: country code - 64; submarine cables to Australia and Fiji; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | AM 124, FM 290, shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Radios: | 3.75 million (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations: | 41 (plus 52 medium-power repeaters and over 650 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Televisions: | 1.926 million (1997) |
| Internet country code: | .nz |
| Internet hosts: | 474,395 (2003) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 36 (2000) |
| Internet users: | 2.11 million (2003) |
| Transportation | New Zealand |
| Railways: | total: 3,898 km narrow gauge: 3,898 km 1.067-m gauge (506 km electrified) (2003) |
| Highways: | total: 92,053 km paved: 57,809 km (including at least 190 km of expressways) unpaved: 34,244 km (2000) |
| Pipelines: | gas 2,213 km; liquid petroleum gas 79 km; oil 160 km; refined products 304 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: | Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Tauranga, Wellington |
| Merchant marine: | total: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 77,523 GRT/108,352 DWT by type: bulk 3, cargo 2, container 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 registered in other countries: 8 (2003 est.) foreign-owned: Australia 1, Isle of Man 1 |
| Airports: | 113 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways: | total: 46 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 70 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 39 (2004 est.) |
| Military | New Zealand |
| Military branches: | New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force |
| Military manpower - military age and obligation: | 17 years of age for voluntary military service; soldiers cannot be deployed until the age of 18 (2001) |
| Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 1,033,464 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 868,984 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 27,157 (2004 est.) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $1.147 billion (FY03/04) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1% (FY02) |
| Transnational Issues | New Zealand |
| Disputes - international: | territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency) |
| This page was last updated on 16 December, 2004 |
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