New Zealand Wikipedia

New Zealand administers the South Pacific island group of Tokelau and claims a section of the Antarctic continent. The capital city is Wellington and the largest urban area Auckland; both are located on the North Island. New Zealand is a remote land—one of the last sizable territories suitable for habitation to be populated and settled—and lies more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Australia, its nearest neighbour.

• Niue and the Cook Islands are self-governing states in free association with New Zealand.
• According to the Ministry of Justice, Māori are overrepresented, comprising 45% of New Zealanders convicted of crimes and 53% of those imprisoned, while only being 16.5% of the population.
• His Constitution Act of 1853 set up a national system of representative government and a prime minister.
• As of 2022, the agency is New Zealand’s largest employer, consolidating the DHBs’ combined work force of 80,000, with an estimated annual operating budget of NZ$20 billion and an asset base of about NZ$24 billion.
• The colony gained a representative government in 1852, and the first Parliament met in 1854.
• Railways run the length of the country, although most lines now carry freight rather than passengers.

Ethnicity and immigration

About 82% of New Zealand’s indigenous vascular plants are endemic, covering 1,944 species across 65 genera. Physical isolation has caused biological isolation, resulting in a dynamic evolutionary ecology with examples of distinctive plants and animals as well as populations of widespread species. Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch all receive a yearly average of more than 2,000 hours of sunshine. Of the seven largest cities, Christchurch is the driest, receiving on average only 618 millimetres (24.3 in) of rain per year. Conditions vary sharply across regions, from extremely wet on the West Coast of the South Island to semi-arid in Central Otago and the Mackenzie Basin of inland Canterbury and subtropical in Northland.

Economy

It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Smaller islands include Stewart Island, which lies south of South Island; Waiheke and Great Barrier islands, near the north end of North Island; and the Chatham Islands, more than 800 km east of South Island. Despite New Zealand’s isolation, the country has been fully engaged in international affairs since the early 20th century, being an active member of a number of intergovernmental institutions, including the United Nations.
New Zealand is heavily dependent on international trade, particularly in agricultural products. Since 1984, successive governments engaged in major macroeconomic restructuring (known first as Rogernomics and then Ruthanasia), rapidly transforming New Zealand from a protectionist and highly regulated economy to a liberalised free-trade economy. According to the 2024 Global Peace Index, New Zealand is the 4th most peaceful country in the world. New Zealand is involved in the Pacific Islands Forum, the Pacific Community, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (including the East Asia Summit). A large proportion of New Zealand’s aid goes to these countries, and many Pacific people migrate to New Zealand for employment. In 2013update there were about 650,000 New Zealand citizens living in Australia, which is equivalent to 15% of the population of New Zealand.

Culture

The entry of Britain into the European Community in the early 1970s, however, forced New Zealand to expand its trade relations with other countries. Economically the country was dependent on the export of agricultural products, especially to Great Britain. The ascent of Mount Everest by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953 was one of the defining moments of the 20th century.
Its exclusive economic zone is one of the world’s largest, covering more than 15 times its land area. The nearest continent is Australia to the west north west, with the shortest distance between the Australian and New Zealand mainlands being roughly 1,487 kilometers (924 miles) across the Tasman Sea, specifically between Tasmania and Fiordland. In 1947, New Zealand adopted the Statute of Westminster, confirming that the British Parliament could no longer legislate for the country without its consent. In 1886, New Zealand annexed the volcanic Kermadec Islands, about 1,000 km (620 mi) northeast of Auckland. Following these armed conflicts, large areas of Māori land were confiscated by the government to meet settler demands. Armed conflict began between the colonial government and Māori in 1843 with the Wairau Affray over land and disagreements over sovereignty.
Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) were formed in 1992 from existing government-owned research organisations. As of 2017update, the United Nations International Telecommunication Union ranks New Zealand 13th in the development of information and communications infrastructure. A large-scale rollout of gigabit-capable fibre to the premises, branded as Ultra-Fast Broadband, began in 2009 with a target of being available to 87% of the population by 2022.
The two main islands are named North and South islands in English, or Te-Ika-a-Maui and Te Wai Pounamu, respectively, in Maori. Discover vibrant cities like the largest city Auckland and capital city Wellington, where culture and entertainment thrive. New Zealand is about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) long (north-south) and about 280 miles (450 km) across at its widest point. New Zealand was the largest country in Polynesia when it was annexed by Great Britain in 1840. Participation in the world wars gave some New Zealand writers a new perspective on New Zealand culture and with the postwar expansion of universities local literature flourished.
While officially the Chatham Islands Council is not a unitary authority, it undertakes many functions of a regional council. The territorial authorities consist of 13 city councils, 53 district councils, and the Chatham Islands Council. In 1989, the government reorganised local government into the current two-tier structure of regional councils and territorial authorities. Since 1876, various councils have administered local areas under legislation determined by the central government.
New Zealand has a highly varied terrain with mountain ranges and hill country dominating the landscape. What type of government does New Zealand have? What is the population of New Zealand? Immigration from other areas—Asia, Africa, and eastern Europe—has also made a mark, and New Zealand culture today reflects these many influences. New Zealand also has a unique array of vegetation and animal life, much of which developed during the country’s prolonged isolation.
He named that area Murderers’ Bay, and called the country Staten Landt. DNA mapping of their Maori descendants indicates links to the indigenous people of Taiwan. The relative proximity of New Zealand to Antarctica has made South Island a gateway of sorts for scientific expeditions and tourist excursions to the icebound continent. Over 75 percent of the forest cover has been burnt or felled, and the land converted into pasture. It also has a diverse range of birds, including the flightless moa (now extinct) and the kiwi, the kakapo, and the takahē, all of which are endangered. Evergreens such as the giant kauri and southern beech dominate the forests.

Trade

Because of its long isolation from the rest of the world, New Zealand has unique flora. The tallest peak on North Island is Mount Ruapehu (2,797 m), an active, cone-shaped volcano. South Island is dominated by the Southern Alps, the highest peak of which is Aoraki/Mount Cook, at 3,754 m. New Zealand aligned itself with the allied nations in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Maori legends describe South Island as a canoe and North Island as a fish.
New Zealand’s transport network comprises 94,000 kilometres (58,410 mi) of roads, including 199 kilometres (124 mi) of motorways, and 4,128 kilometres (2,565 mi) of railway lines. In contrast, dairy farming increased, with the number of dairy cows doubling between 1990 and 2007, to become New Zealand’s largest export earner. On 7 April 2008, New Zealand and China signed the New Zealand–China Free Trade Agreement, the first such agreement China has signed with a developed country. Food products made up 55% of the value of all the country’s exports in 2014; wood was the second largest earner (7%). Exports account for 24% of its output, making New Zealand vulnerable to international commodity prices and global economic slowdowns.

• The territorial authorities consist of 13 city councils, 53 district councils, and the Chatham Islands Council.
• The Moriori people of the Chatham Islands, located to the east of the main islands, multiplied from a group of New Zealand Polynesians who traveled there by canoe in the fourteenth or fifteenth century.
• The number of overseas students receiving education in New Zealand expanded dramatically and the importance of “export education” to the national economy rivaled that of other more established industries.
• Successive government policies on the relationship between Maori and non-Maori people have worsened race relations.
• Unless you are posting Original Content you should link to where you found the content to credit the creator.
• New Zealand was the largest country in Polynesia when it was annexed by Great Britain in 1840.

Geothermal power is also a significant generator of electricity, with several large stations located across the Taupō Volcanic Zone in the North Island. The majority of the country’s electricity supply is generated from hydroelectric power, with major schemes on the Waikato, Waitaki and Clutha / Mata-Au rivers, as well as at Manapouri. New Zealand’s wine industry has followed a similar trend to dairy, the number of vineyards doubling over the same period, overtaking wool exports for the first time in 2007. In 2017, international visitor arrivals were expected to increase at a rate of 5.4% annually up to 2022. Tourism plays a significant role in the economy, contributing $12.9 billion (or 5.6%) to New Zealand’s total GDP and supporting 7.5% of the total workforce in 2016. The service sector is the largest sector in the economy, followed by manufacturing and construction and then farming and raw material extraction.

Christianity is the predominant religion in New Zealand, although nearly 40 percent of the population has no religious affiliation. Successive government policies on the relationship between Maori and non-Maori people have worsened race relations. English and Maori are the two official languages, although most visitors would find New Zealand exclusively an English-speaking country. A result of Pacific Island immigration is that South Auckland has become the world’s largest Polynesian city. About 70 percent of New Zealand’s population is of European descent, mostly English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, and Dutch. New Zealand once had about 20 times more sheep than people; by 2001 there were only 12 times as many.

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Almost all general elections between betista casino login 1853 and 1993 were held under the first-past-the-post voting system. Cabinet, formed by ministers and led by the prime minister, is the highest policy-making body in government and responsible for deciding significant government actions. If no majority is formed, a minority government can be formed if support from other parties during confidence and supply votes is assured. The House of Representatives is democratically elected, and a government is formed from the party or coalition with the majority of seats. The New Zealand Parliament holds legislative power and consists of the king and the House of Representatives.
The New Zealand Post Office had a monopoly over telecommunications in New Zealand until 1987 when Telecom New Zealand was formed, initially as a state-owned enterprise and then privatised in 1990. Railways run the length of the country, although most lines now carry freight rather than passengers. The state-owned enterprise KiwiRail now operates the railways, with the exception of commuter services in Auckland and Wellington, which are operated by Auckland One Rail and Transdev Wellington respectively. State-owned Transpower operates the high-voltage transmission grids in the North and South Islands, as well as the Inter-Island HVDC link connecting the two together.
New Zealand is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing agreement, known formally as the UKUSA Agreement. Today, New Zealand enjoys particularly close relations with the United States and is one of its major non-NATO allies, as well as with Australia, with a “Trans-Tasman” identity between citizens of the latter being common. The country is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and participates in the Five Power Defence Arrangements.
After financial reforms in 1984, successive governments transformed New Zealand from a highly protectionist and regulated economy to a liberalized free market economy. New Zealand recorded the highest casualties per head of population of any combatant nation during World War I, when 100,000 served and 17,000 were killed. The first capital was in the Bay of Islands, in the far north, but soon moved to Auckland. The Maori called the North Island Aotearoa, a name which is now the most widely known and accepted Maori name for the entire country. Conditions vary from wet and cold on South Island’s west coast to dry and continental a short distance away across the mountains and subtropical in the northern reaches of North Island.