New Zealand (/njuzilnd/ new-ZEE-lnd, Mori: Aotearoa) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

The country geographically comprises two main landmasses that of the North and South Islands and
numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across
the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji,
and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans.
Polynesians settled New Zealand in 12501300 CE and developed a distinctive Mori culture, and Europeans first
made contact in 1642 CE. The introduction of potatoes and muskets triggered upheaval among Mori early during
the 19th century, which led to the inter-tribal Musket Wars. In 1840 the British and Mori signed a treaty making
New Zealand a colony of the British Empire. Immigrant numbers increased sharply and conflicts escalated into
the New Zealand Wars, which resulted in much Mori land being confiscated in the mid North Island. Economic
depressions were followed by periods of political reform, with women gaining the vote during the 1890s, and
a welfare state being established from the 1930s. After World War II, New Zealand joined Australia and the United
States in the ANZUS security treaty, although the United States later, until 2010, suspended the treaty after New
Zealand banned nuclear weapons. New Zealand is part of the intelligence sharing among the Anglosphere
countries, the UKUSA Agreement. New Zealanders enjoyed one of the highest standards of living in the world in the
1950s, but the 1970s saw a deep recession, worsened by oil shocks and the United Kingdom's entry into
the European Economic Community. The country underwent major economic changes during the 1980s, which
transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy. Markets for New Zealand's agricultural

exports have diversified greatly since the 1970s, with once-dominant exports of wool being overtaken by dairy
products, meat, and recently wine.

During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of animal, fungal and plant life. Most
notable are the large number of uniquebird species, many of which became extinct after the arrival of humans
and introduced mammals. With a mild maritime climate, the land was mostly covered in forest. The country's varied
topography and its sharp mountain peaks owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions caused by
the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates clashing beneath the earth's surface.
The majority of New Zealand's population is of European descent; the indigenous Mori are the largest minority,
followed by Asians and non-Mori Polynesians. English, Mori and New Zealand Sign Language are the official
languages, with English predominant. Much of New Zealand's culture is derived from Mori and early British
settlers. Early European art was dominated by landscapes and to a lesser extent portraits of Mori. A recent
resurgence of Mori culture has seen their traditional arts of carving, weaving and tattooing become more
mainstream. Many artists now combine Mori and Western techniques to create unique art forms. The country's
culture has also been broadened by globalisation and increased immigrationfrom the Pacific Islands and Asia. New
Zealand's diverse landscape provides many opportunities for outdoor pursuits and has provided the backdrop for a
number of big budget movies.
New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes;
these have less autonomy than the country's long defunct provinces did. Nationally, executive political power is
exercised by the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister. Queen Elizabeth IIis the country's head of state and is
represented by a Governor-General. The Queen's Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau (a dependent
territory); the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing but in free association); and the Ross Dependency, which is
New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation, Commonwealth of Nations, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands
Forum, and the United Nations.

Environment
Geography

The snow-capped Southern Alps dominate the South Island, while the North Island's Northland Peninsula stretches towards the
subtropics.

Aoraki / Mount Cook viewed from the road to Mount Cook Village, located in theSouthern Alps. A significant portion of New
Zealand's South Island landscape is mountainous.

Torrent Bay at Abel Tasman National Parkin the South Island

New Zealand is made up of two main islands and a number of smaller islands, located near the centre of
the water hemisphere. The main North and South Islands are separated by the Cook Strait, 22 kilometres
(14 mi) wide at its narrowest point. Besides the North and South Islands, the five largest inhabited islands are
Stewart Island, the Chatham Islands, Great Barrier Island (in the Hauraki Gulf), d'Urville Island (in
the Marlborough Sounds) and Waiheke Island (about 22 km (14 mi) from central Auckland).[132] The country's
islands lie between latitudes 29 and53S, and longitudes 165 and 176E.
New Zealand is long (over 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) along its north-north-east axis) and narrow (a maximum
width of 400 kilometres (250 mi)), with approximately 15,134 km (9,404 mi) of coastline and a total land area of
268,021 square kilometres (103,483 sq mi) Because of its far-flung outlying islands and long coastline, the
country has extensive marine resources. Its Exclusive Economic Zone, one of the largest in the world, covers
more than 15 times its land area.
The South Island is the largest land mass of New Zealand, and is divided along its length by the Southern Alps.
There are 18 peaks over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), the highest of which is Aoraki/Mount Cook at 3,754 metres
(12,316 ft). Fiordland's steep mountains and deep fiords record the extensive ice age glaciation of this southwestern corner of the South Island. The North Island is less mountainous but is marked by volcanism. The
highly active Taupo volcanic zone has formed a large volcanic plateau, punctuated by the North Island's highest
mountain, Mount Ruapehu (2,797 metres (9,177 ft)). The plateau also hosts the country's largest lake, Lake
Taupo, nestled in the caldera of one of the world's most active supervolcanoes.

The country owes its varied topography, and perhaps even its emergence above the waves, to the dynamic
boundary it straddles between the Pacificand Indo-Australian Plates. New Zealand is part of Zealandia,
a microcontinent nearly half the size of Australia that gradually submerged after breaking away from
the Gondwanan supercontinent. About 25 million years ago, a shift in plate tectonic movements began
to contort and crumplethe region. This is now most evident in the Southern Alps, formed by compression of the
crust beside the Alpine Fault.
Elsewhere the plate boundary involves the subduction of one plate under the other, producing the Puysegur
Trench to the south, the Hikurangi Trench east of the North Island, and theKermadec and Tonga
Trenches further north.

Climate
New Zealand has a mild and temperate maritime climate with mean annual temperatures ranging from 10
C (50 F) in the south to 16 C (61 F) in the north. Historical maxima and minimaare 42.4 C (108.3 F)
in Rangiora, Canterbury and 25.6 C (14.08 F) in Ranfurly, Otago. Conditions vary sharply across regions
from extremely wet on the West Coast of the South Islandto almost semi-arid in Central Otago and
the Mackenzie
Basin of
inland
Canterbury and subtropical in Northland. Of
the
seven
largest
cities, Christchurch is the driest, receiving on average only 640 millimetres (25 in) of rain per year and Auckland
the wettest, receiving almost twice that amount. Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch all receive a yearly
average in excess of 2,000 hours of sunshine. The southern and south-western parts of the South Island have
a cooler and cloudier climate, with around 1,4001,600 hours; the northern and north-eastern parts of the South
Island are the sunniest areas of the country and receive approximately 2,4002,500 hours. The general snow
season is about early June until early October in the South Island. It is less common on the North Island,
although it does occur.

Biodiversity

New Zealand's geographic isolation for 80 million years and island biogeography is responsible for the
country's unique species of animals, fungi and plants. They have either evolved from Gondwanan wildlife or the
few organisms that have managed to reach the shores flying, swimming or being carried across the sea.[] About
82 percent of New Zealand's indigenous vascular plants are endemic, covering 1,944 species across
65 genera and includes a singlefamily. The number of fungi recorded from New Zealand, including lichenforming species, is not known, nor is the proportion of those fungi which are endemic, but one estimate
suggests there are approximately 2300 species of lichen-forming fungi in New Zealand and 40 percent of these
are endemic.[155]The two main types of forest are those dominated by broadleaf trees with emergent podocarps,

or by southern beech in cooler climates. The remaining vegetation types consist of grasslands, the majority of
which are tussock.
Before the arrival of humans an estimated 80 percent of the land was covered in forest, with only high alpine,
wet, infertile and volcanic areas without trees. Massive deforestation occurred after humans arrived, with
around half the forest cover lost to fire after Polynesian settlement. Much of the remaining forest fell after
European settlement, being logged or cleared to make room for pastoral farming, leaving forest occupying only
23 percent of the land.
The forests were dominated by birds, and the lack of mammalian predators led to some like
the kiwi, kakapo and takah evolving flightlessness. The arrival of humans, associated changes to habitat, and
the introduction of rats, ferrets and other mammals led to the extinction of many bird species, including large
birds like the moa and Haast's eagle.
Other indigenous animals are represented by reptiles (tuataras, skinks and geckos), frogs, spiders (katipo),
insects (weta) and snails. Some, such as the wrens and tuatara, are so unique that they have been called living
fossils. Three species of bats (one since extinct) were the only sign of native land mammals in New Zealand
until the 2006 discovery of bones from a unique, mouse-sized land mammal at least 16 million years
old. Marine mammals however are abundant, with almost half the world's cetaceans (whales, dolphins,
and porpoises) and large numbers of fur seals reported in New Zealand waters. Many seabirds breed in New
Zealand, a third of them unique to the country. More penguin species are found in New Zealand than in any
other country.
Since human arrival almost half of the country's vertebrate species have become extinct, including at least fifty
one birds, three frogs, three lizards, one freshwater fish, and one bat, and four plant species have become
extinct. Others are endangered or have had their range severely reduced. The number of fungi which have
become extinct, endangered or reduced in range is not known. However New Zealand conservationists have
pioneered several methods to help threatened wildlife recover, including island sanctuaries, pest control, wildlife
translocation, fostering, and ecological restoration of islands and other selected areas. According to the
2012 Environmental Performance Index, New Zealand is considered a "strong performer" in environmental
protection, ranking 14th out of 132 assessed countries.

Language
English is the predominant language in New Zealand, spoken by 98 percent of the population. New Zealand
English is similar to Australian English and many speakers from the Northern Hemisphere are unable to tell
the accents apart.. The most prominent differences between the New Zealand English dialect and other English
dialects are the shifts in the short front vowels: the short-"i" sound (as in "kit") has centralised towards
the schwa sound (the "a" in "comma" and "about"); the short-"e" sound (as in "dress") has moved towards the
short-"i" sound; and the short-"a" sound (as in "trap") has moved to the short-"e" sound. Hence, the New Zealand
pronunciation of words such as "bad", "dead", "fish" and "chips" sound like "bed", "did", "fush" and "chups" to nonNew Zealanders.
After the Second World War, Mori were discouraged from speaking their own language ( te reo Mori) in schools
and workplaces and it existed as a community language only in a few remote areas. It has recently undergone a
process of revitalisation, being declared one of New Zealand's official languages in 1987, and is spoken by 4.1
percent of the population. There are now Mori language immersion schools and two Mori Television channels, the
only nationwide television channels to have the majority of their prime-time content delivered in Mori. Many
places have officially been given dual Maori and English names in recent years. Samoan is one of the most widely

spoken languages in New Zealand (2.3 percent), [n 11] followed by French, Hindi, Yue and Northern Chinese. [3] New
Zealand Sign Language is used by approximately 28,000 people and was made New Zealand's second official
language in 2006.

Culture
Early Mori adapted the tropically based east Polynesian culture in line with the challenges associated with a larger
and more diverse environment, eventually developing their own distinctive culture. Social organisation was largely
communal with families (whanau), sub-tribes (hapu) and tribes (iwi) ruled by a chief (rangatira) whose position was
subject to the community's approval.[272] The British and Irish immigrants brought aspects of their own culture to New
Zealand and also influenced Mori culture, [273][274] particularly with the introduction of Christianity.[275] However, Mori
still regard their allegiance to tribal groups as a vital part of their identity, and Mori kinship roles resemble those of
other Polynesian peoples.[276] More recently American, Australian, Asian and other European cultures have exerted
influence on New Zealand. Non-Mori Polynesian cultures are also apparent, with Pasifika, the world's largest
Polynesian festival, now an annual event in Auckland.

Cook Islands dancers at Auckland's Pasifika festival

The largely rural life in early New Zealand led to the image of New Zealanders being rugged, industrious problem
solvers.[277] Modesty was expected and enforced through the "tall poppy syndrome", where high achievers received
harsh criticism.[278] At the time New Zealand was not known as an intellectual country. [279] From the early 20th
century until the late 1960s Mori culture was suppressed by the attempted assimilation of Mori into British New
Zealanders.[255] In the 1960s, as higher education became more available andcities expanded[280] urban culture
began to dominate.[281] Even though the majority of the population now lives in cities, much of New Zealand's art,
literature, film and humour has rural themes.

Art
As part of the resurgence of Mori culture, the traditional crafts of carving and weaving are now more widely
practised and Mori artists are increasing in number and influence. [282] Most Mori carvings feature human figures,
generally with three fingers and either a natural-looking, detailed head or a grotesque head. [283] Surface patterns
consisting of spirals, ridges, notches and fish scales decorate most carvings. [284] The pre-eminent Mori architecture
consisted of carved meeting houses (wharenui) decorated with symbolic carvings and illustrations. These buildings
were originally designed to be constantly rebuilt, changing and adapting to different whims or needs. [285]
Mori decorated the white wood of buildings, canoes and cenotaphs using red (a mixture of red ochre and shark fat)
and black (made from soot) paint and painted pictures of birds, reptiles and other designs on cave walls. [286] Mori
tattoos (moko) consisting of coloured soot mixed with gum were cut into the flesh with a bone chisel. [287] Since
European arrival paintings and photographs have been dominated by landscapes, originally not as works of art but
as factual portrayals of New Zealand. [288] Portraits of Mori were also common, with early painters often portraying
them as "noble savages", exotic beauties or friendly natives. [288] The country's isolation delayed the influence of
European artistic trends allowing local artists to developed their own distinctive style of regionalism.[289] During the
1960s and 70s many artists combined traditional Mori and Western techniques, creating unique art forms. [290] New
Zealand art and craft has gradually achieved an international audience, with exhibitions in the Venice Biennale in
2001 and the "Paradise Now" exhibition in New York in 2004. [282][291]

Portrait of Hinepare of Ngti Kahungunu by Gottfried Lindauer, showing chin moko, pounamu hei-tiki and woven cloak

Mori cloaks are made of fine flax fibre and patterned with black, red and white triangles, diamonds and other
geometric shapes.[292] Greenstone was fashioned into earrings and necklaces, with the most well-known design
being the hei-tiki, a distorted human figure sitting cross-legged with its head tilted to the side. [293] Europeans brought
English fashion etiquette to New Zealand, and until the 1950s most people dressed up for social occasions.
[294]
Standards have since relaxed and New Zealand fashion has received a reputation for being casual, practical

and lacklustre.[295][296] However, the local fashion industry has grown significantly since 2000, doubling exports and
increasing from a handful to about 50 established labels, with some labels gaining international recognition. [296]

Literature
Mori quickly adopted writing as a means of sharing ideas, and many of their oral stories and poems were
converted to the written form.[297] Most early English literature was obtained from Britain and it was not until the
1950s when local publishing outlets increased that New Zealand literature started to become widely known.
[298]
Although still largely influenced by global trends (modernism) and events (the Great Depression), writers in the
1930s began to develop stories increasingly focused on their experiences in New Zealand. During this period
literature changed from a journalistic activity to a more academic pursuit. [299]Participation in the world wars gave
some New Zealand writers a new perspective on New Zealand culture and with the post-war expansion of
universities local literature flourished.[300]

Entertainment

Bungy jumping in the popular resort town of Queenstown.

New Zealand music has been influenced by blues, jazz, country, rock and roll and hip hop, with many of these
genres given a unique New Zealand interpretation. [301] Mori developed traditional chants and songs from their
ancient South-East Asian origins, and after centuries of isolation created a unique "monotonous" and "doleful"
sound.[302] Flutes and trumpets were used as musical instruments [303] or as signalling devices during war or special
occasions.[304] Early settlers brought over their ethnic music, with brass bands and choral music being popular, and
musicians began touring New Zealand in the 1860s. [305][306] Pipe bands became widespread during the early 20th
century.[307] The New Zealand recording industry began to develop from 1940 onwards and many New Zealand
musicians have obtained success in Britain and the USA. [301] Some artists release Mori language songs and the
Mori tradition-based art of kapa haka (song and dance) has made a resurgence. [308] The New Zealand Music
Awards are held annually by theRecording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ); the awards were first held
in 1965 by Reckitt & Colman as the Loxene Golden Discawards.[309] The RIANZ also publishes the country's official
weekly record charts.[310]
Radio first arrived in New Zealand in 1922 and television in 1960. [311] The number of New Zealand films significantly
increased during the 1970s.[312] In 1978 the New Zealand Film Commission started assisting local film-makers and
many films attained a world audience, some receiving international acknowledgement. Deregulation in the 1980s
saw a sudden increase in the numbers of radio and television stations. [312] New Zealand television primarily
broadcasts American and British programming, along with a large number of Australian and local shows. The
country's diverse scenery and compact size, plus government incentives, [313] have encouraged some producers to
film big budget movies in New Zealand. [314] The New Zealand media industry is dominated by a small number of
companies, most of which are foreign-owned, although the state retains ownership of some television and radio
stations. Between 2003 and 2008, Reporters Without Borders consistently ranked New Zealand's press freedom in

the top twenty.[315] As of 2011, New Zealand was ranked 13th worldwide in press freedom by Freedom House, with
the 2nd freest media in the Asia-Pacific region after Palau.[316]

Sports

Statue of mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillarygazing towards Aoraki / Mount Cook

Most of the major sporting codes played in New Zealand have English origins. [317] Golf, netball, tennis and cricket
are the four top participatory sports, soccer is the most popular among young people and rugby union attracts the
most spectators.[318] Victorious rugby tours to Australia and the United Kingdom in the late 1880s and the early
1900s played an early role in instilling a national identity,[319] although the sport's influence has since declined.
[320]
Horse racing was also a popular spectator sport and became part of the "Rugby, Racing and Beer" culture
during the 1960s.[321] Mori participation in European sports was particularly evident in rugby and the country's team
performs a haka (traditional Mori challenge) before international matches. [322]
New Zealand has competitive international teams in rugby union, netball, cricket, rugby league, and softball and has
traditionally done well in triathlons, rowing, yachting and cycling. The country has performed well on a medals-topopulation ratio at Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games.[318][323]New Zealand's national rugby union team is
often regarded as the best in the world, and are the reigning World Cup holders. New Zealand are also the reigning
rugby league world champions. New Zealand is known for its extreme sports, adventure tourism[324] and strong
mountaineering tradition.[325]Other outdoor pursuits such as cycling, fishing, swimming, running, tramping, canoeing,
hunting, snowsports and surfing are also popular.[326] The Polynesian sport of waka ama racing has increased in
popularity and is now an international sport involving teams from all over the Pacific. [327]