Overview
of the Country
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 number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years the government has sought to address longstanding native Maori grievances.
GEOGRAPHY
• s Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia• s Area Comparative: About the size of Colorado• s Climate: temperate with sharp regional contrasts• s Terrain: predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains• s Natural Hazards: earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity• s Natural Resources: Natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone• s Geography Note: About 80% of the population live in cities; Wellington is the southernmost national capital in the world
PEOPLE
• s Population: 3,908,037 (July 2002 est.)• s Age Structure:• s • s 0-14 years: 22.2% (male 443,921; female 422,804)• s • s 15-64 years: 66.3% (male 1,299,973; female 1,290,097)• s • s 65 years and over: 11.5% (male 196,640; female 254,602) (2002 est.)• s Ethnic Groups:• s • s New Zealand European 74.5%• s • s Maori 9.7%• s • s Other European 4.6%• s • s Pacific Islander 3.8%• s • s Asian and others 7.4%• s Languages: English (official), Maori (official)• s Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1980 est.)
GOVERNMENT
• s Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy• s Capital: Wellington• s Legal System: Based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for Maoris; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations• s International Organization Participation: ABEDA, ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
ECONOMY
• s GDP - Real growth rate: 3.1% (2001 est.)• s GDP - Per capita: purchasing power parity - $19,500 (2001 est.)• s GDP - Composition by sector: agriculture: 8% industry: 23% services: 69% (1999)• s Population below poverty line: NA%• s Labor Force: 1.92 million (2001 est.)• s Labor force by occupation: services 65%, industry 25%, agriculture 10% (1995)• s Unemployment rate: 4.9% (2002)• s Industries: Food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining• s Exports: $14.2 billion (2001 est.)• s Imports: $12.5 billion (2001 est.)• s Currency: New Zealand dollar (NZD)• s Exchange Rate: New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.3535 (January 2002)
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