New Zealand

Airports

total: 108 usable: 108 with permanent-surface runways: 39 with runways over 3,659 m: 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 39

Highways

total: 92,648 km paved: 49,547 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 43,101 km

Inland waterways

1,609 km; of little importance to transportation

Merchant marine

18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 165,514 GRT/218,699 DWT, bulk 6, cargo 2, liquefied gas 1, oil tanker 3, railcar carrier 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 5

Pipelines

petroleum products 160 km; natural gas 1,000 km; condensate (liquified petroleum gas - LPG) 150 km

Ports

Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington, Tauranga

Railroads

4,716 km total; all 1.067-meter gauge; 274 km double track; 113 km electrified; over 99% government owned

Telecommunications

excellent international and domestic systems; 2,110,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 64 AM, 2 FM, 14 TV; submarine cables extend to Australia and Fiji; 2 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

Branches

New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $792 million, 2% of GDP (FY90/91)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 880,576; fit for military service 741,629; reach military age (20) annually 28,242 (1994 est.)

Agriculture

accounts for about 9% of GDP and about 10% of the work force; livestock predominates - wool, meat, dairy products all export earners; crops - wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; surplus producer of farm products; fish catch reached a record 503,000 metric tons in 1988

Budget

revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA note: deficit $345 million (October 1993)

Currency

1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents

Economic aid

donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $526 million

Electricity

capacity: 8,000,000 kW production: 31 billion kWh consumption per capita: 9,250 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates

New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1 - 1.7771 (January 1994), 1.8495 (1993), 1.8584 (1992), 1.7265 (1991), 1.6750 (1990), 1.6711 (1989)

Exports

$10.3 billion (FY93) commodities: wool, lamb, mutton, beef, fruit, fish, cheese, manufactures, chemicals, forestry products partners: Australia 18.9%, Japan 15.1%, US 12.5%, South Korea 4.1%

External debt

$35.3 billion (March 1993)

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June

Imports

$9.4 billion (FY93) commodities: petroleum, consumer goods, motor vehicles, industrial equipment partners: Australia 21.1%, US 19.6%, Japan 14.7%, UK 6.3%, Germany 4.2%

Industrial production

growth rate 1.9% (1990); accounts for about 20% of GDP

Industries

food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2% (1993)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $53 billion (1993)

National product per capita

$15,700 (1993)

National product real growth rate

3% (1993)

Overview

Since 1984 the government has been reorienting an agrarian economy dependent on a guaranteed British market to a more industrialized, open free market economy that can compete on the global scene. The government has hoped that dynamic growth would boost real incomes, broaden and deepen the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, reduce inflationary pressures, and permit the expansion of welfare benefits. The results have been mixed: inflation is down from double-digit levels, but growth was sluggish in 1988-91. In 1992-93, growth picked up to 3% annually, a sign that the new economic approach is beginning to pay off. Business confidence has strengthened, and the inflation remains among the lowest in the industrial world. Unemployment, down from 11% in 1991, remains unacceptably high at 9%.

Unemployment rate

9.1% (September 1993)

Area

total area: 268,680 sq km land area: 268,670 sq km comparative area: about the size of Colorado note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands

Climate

temperate with sharp regional contrasts

Coastline

15,134 km

Environment

current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside natural hazards: earthquakes are common, though usually not severe international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

International disputes

territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency)

Irrigated land

2,800 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 53% forest and woodland: 38% other: 7%

Location

Southwestern Oceania, southeast of Australia in the South Pacific Ocean

Map references

Oceania, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

continental shelf: 200 nm or the edge of continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone

Note

about 80% of the population lives in cities

Terrain

predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains

Abbreviation

NZ

Administrative divisions

93 counties, 9 districts*, and 3 town districts**; Akaroa, Amuri, Ashburton, Bay of Islands, Bruce, Buller, Chatham Islands, Cheviot, Clifton, Clutha, Cook, Dannevirke, Egmont, Eketahuna, Ellesmere, Eltham, Eyre, Featherston, Franklin, Golden Bay, Great Barrier Island, Grey, Hauraki Plains, Hawera*, Hawke's Bay, Heathcote, Hikurangi**, Hobson, Hokianga, Horowhenua, Hurunui, Hutt, Inangahua, Inglewood, Kaikoura, Kairanga, Kiwitea, Lake, Mackenzie, Malvern, Manaia**, Manawatu, Mangonui, Maniototo, Marlborough, Masterton, Matamata, Mount Herbert, Ohinemuri, Opotiki, Oroua, Otamatea, Otorohanga*, Oxford, Pahiatua, Paparua, Patea, Piako, Pohangina, Raglan, Rangiora*, Rangitikei, Rodney, Rotorua*, Runanga, Saint Kilda, Silverpeaks, Southland, Stewart Island, Stratford, Strathallan, Taranaki, Taumarunui, Taupo, Tauranga, Thames-Coromandel*, Tuapeka, Vincent, Waiapu, Waiheke, Waihemo, Waikato, Waikohu, Waimairi, Waimarino, Waimate, Waimate West, Waimea, Waipa, Waipawa*, Waipukurau*, Wairarapa South, Wairewa, Wairoa, Waitaki, Waitomo*, Waitotara, Wallace, Wanganui, Waverley**, Westland, Whakatane*, Whangarei, Whangaroa, Woodville

Capital

Wellington

Constitution

no formal, written constitution; consists of various documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments; Constitution Act 1986 was to have come into force 1 January 1987, but has not been enacted

Dependent areas

Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau

Digraph

NZ

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Lionel John WOOD chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 328-4800 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles

Executive branch

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Catherine TIZARD (since 12 December 1990) head of government: Prime Minister James BOLGER (since 29 October 1990); Deputy Prime Minister Donald McKINNON (since 2 November 1990) cabinet: Executive Council; appointed by the governor general on recommendation of the prime minister

FAX

[64] (4) 472-3537 consulate(s) general: Auckland

Flag

blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation

House of Representatives

(commonly called Parliament) elections last held on 6 November 1993 (next to be held NA November 1996); results - NP 35.2%, NZLP 34.7%, Alliance 18.3%, New Zealand First 8.3%; seats - (99 total) NP 50, NZLP 45, Alliance 2, New Zealand First Party 2

Independence

26 September 1907 (from UK)

Judicial branch

High Court, Court of Appeal

Legal system

based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for Maoris; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Legislative branch

unicameral

Member of

ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, C, CCC, CP, COCOM (cooperating), EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR, NAM (guest), OECD, PCA, SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Names

conventional long form: none conventional short form: New Zealand

National holiday

Waitangi Day, 6 February (1840) (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty)

Political parties and leaders

National Party (NP; government), James BOLGER; New Zealand Labor Party (NZLP; opposition), Helen CLARK; Alliance, Jim ANDERTON; Democratic Party, Dick RYAN; New Zealand Liberal Party, Hanmish MACINTYRE and Gilbert MYLES; Green Party, no official leader; Mana Motuhake, Martin RATA; Socialist Unity Party (SUP; pro-Soviet), Kenneth DOUGLAS; New Zealand First, Winston PETERS note: the New Labor, Democratic, and Mana Motuhake parties formed a coalition called the Alliance Party, Jim ANDERTON, president, in September 1991; the Green Party joined the coalition in May 1992

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

parliamentary democracy

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Josiah BEEMAN embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, FPO AP 96531-1001 telephone: [64] (4) 472-2068

Birth rate

15.52 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

8.06 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

European 88%, Maori 8.9%, Pacific Islander 2.9%, other 0.2%

Infant mortality rate

8.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force

1,603,500 (June 1991) by occupation: services 67.4%, manufacturing 19.8%, primary production 9.3% (1987)

Languages

English (official), Maori

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 76.38 years male: 72.76 years female: 80.18 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.) total population: 99% male: NA% female: NA%

Nationality

noun: New Zealander(s) adjective: New Zealand

Net migration rate

-1.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

3,388,737 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

0.57% (1994 est.)

Religions

Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%, Methodist 5%, Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none 9% (1986)

Total fertility rate

2.03 children born/woman (1994 est.)