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New Zealand FactsAbout New Zealand
Here you'll find some background information on New Zealand, which we hope you will find useful in planning your New Zealand Vacation.
Geography
New Zealand is a long narrow country lying roughly north-south. Consisting of the North and South Islands (and a number of smaller islands), it covers 103,736 square miles (268,675 square kilometres) and is 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) long. It covers an area slightly larger than the United Kingdom.
New Zealand is situated in the South Pacific, approximately 6,500 miles (10,400 kilometres) south west of North America and 1,400 miles (2,250 kilometres) east of Australia.
Discovery
Polynesian navigators made New Zealand the last major land mass to be settled by humans 1000 years ago. On sighting the new land from their canoes, Maori named it Aotearoa.
The Dutch navigator, Abel Tasman, sighted and named New Zealand in 1642. However, it was not until 1769 that Captain James Cook charted the coastline and explored the country. Whalers and traders began to arrive on New Zealand's shores soon after Captain Cook.
The first European setters arrived in the early nineteenth century at the Bay of Islands and established missionary stations in the area. Mass immigration occurred shortly after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
Population
New Zealand has a population of approximately 4 million people, three quarters of whom live in the North Island, one of the two main islands. New Zealand Maori make up approximately 10% of the population, and Polynesian people approximately 4% of New Zealand's multi-cultural society. Chinese, Indian and Asian ethnic groups are increasing in population size within New Zealand.
Time Zone
New Zealand is exactly twelve hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. In summer, early October to late March, we enjoy an extra hour of daylight saving, to extend the warm summer evenings.
Climate
New Zealand has a particularly clear and unpolluted atmosphere with average daily sunshine hours ranging from seven to eight in summer and four to five in winter.
Ranging from subtropical in the north to temperate in the south, the mean summer temperature is 23° Celsius (74° Fahrenheit) and 14° Celsius (57° Fahrenheit) in winter. Seasons are opposite to those in the Northern Hemisphere - winter is between June and August and summer is between December and February.
Government
A British Colony since 1840, New Zealand declared national sovereignty in 1947, but remains a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth as head of state. Recently, New Zealand replaced the previous 'first past the post' electoral system with a new mixed member system of proportional representation. There are now several mainstream political parties - National and Labour, who were the 'traditional' parties along with more recent political parties including New Zealand First, the Alliance and the Greens. The current government is a centre-left coalition between Labour and the Alliance.
The Economy
Even though well over 80% of New Zealanders live in towns and cities, agricultural products are the basis of New Zealand's economy and is the biggest export earner. That's not surprising when you consider that one third of the country's total area is sown in pasture and that sheep out number people by twenty five to one!
Tourism, forestry, horticulture, fishing and manufacturing have become increasingly important sectors in the economy in recent years. Australia is New Zealand's largest export market, followed by Japan, Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
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