New Zealand

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.

New Zealand Information

• Population: 3,993,817 (July 2004 est.)
• Nationality: noun: New Zealander(s) adjective: New Zealand
• Location:: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia
• Religions:: Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%, Methodist 5%, Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none 33% (1986)
• Ethnic Groups:: New Zealand European 74.5%, Maori 9.7%, other European 4.6%, Pacific Islander 3.8%, Asian and others 7.4%
• Land Boundaries:: 0 km
• Area: total: 268,680 sq km note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands water: NA sq km land: NA sq km
• Coast Line: 15,134 km
• Climate: temperate with sharp regional contrasts
• Terrain: predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains
• Maritime Claims: territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
• Land Use: arable land: 5.6% permanent crops: 6.99% other: 87.41% (2001)
• Environmental Issues: deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside
• Natural Resources: natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone
• Highways: total: 92,053 km paved: 57,809 km (including at least 190 km of expressways) unpaved: 34,244 km (2000)
• Railways: total: 3,898 km narrow gauge: 3,898 km 1.067-m gauge (506 km electrified) (2003)
• Ports & Harbours: Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Tauranga, Wellington
• Airports: 113 (2003 est.)