Country Facts - New Zealand

The People

Nationality

New Zealander(s)

Ethnic Composition

New Zealand European	74.5%
Maori	9.7%
Asian and other	7.4%
Pacific Islander	3.8%

Religious Composition

Unspecified or none	33%
Anglican	24%
Presbyterian	18%
Roman Catholic	15%
Methodist	5%
Baptist	2%
Other Protestant	3%

Languages Spoken

English (official), Maori (official)

Education and Literacy

Ten years of schooling are compulsory. Literacy is 99 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 1.92 million (2001)
By occupation:

Services	65%
Industry	25%
Agriculture	10%

Geography

Land Mass Total

103,737 sq mi (268,680 sq km)
Note: Includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands.

Land

103,734 sq mi (

268,670 sq km)

Land Boundaries

0 mi (0 km), island chain

Coastline

9,403 mi (

15,134 km)

Maritime claim

Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

Temperate with sharp regional contrasts.

Terrain

Predominantly mountainous with some large coastal plains.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Pacific Ocean 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Mount Cook 12,349 ft (3,764 m)

Natural Resources

Natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone.

Land use

Arable land	6%
Permanent crops	6%
Other	88%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity.

Environment - current issues

Deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside.

Geography Note

About 80 percent of the population lives in cities.

Demographics

Population

3,908,037 (July 2002

)

Age structure

0-14 years:	22.2%	male 443,921	female 422,804
15-64 years:	66.3%	male 1,299,973	female 1,290,097
65 years and over:	11.5%	male 196,640	female 254,602

(2002)

Growth Rate

1.12% (2002)

Life Expectancy

78.15 years (2002)
female: 81.27 years
male: 75.17 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$19,500 (2001)

Infant Mortality

6.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.04 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.77 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.99 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

4.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Since 1984 the government has accomplished major economic restructuring, transforming New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes (but left behind many at the bottom of the ladder), broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. While per capita incomes have been rising, however, they remain below the level of the four largest EU economies, and there is some government concern that New Zealand is not closing the gap. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade - particularly in agricultural products - to drive growth, and it has been affected by the global economic slowdown and the slump in commodity prices. Thus far the New Zealand economy has been relatively resilient, achieving about 3 percent growth in 2001, but the New Zealand business cycle tends to lag the U.S. cycle by about six months, so the worst of the downturn may did hit until mid-2002. GDP jumped half a percentage point in 2002, with similar growth expected in 2003. Unemployment is expected to start dropping in 2003 heading for just 5 percent by 2005.

Unemployment

5.5% (2001)

Inflation Rate

2.6% (2001)

Industries

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

Exports

US$14.2 billion (2001)

Imports

US$12.5 billion (2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$75.4 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Australia 20.4%, US 14.5%, Japan 13.5%, UK 5.4%, South Korea, China (2000)

Top Import Partners

Australia 22.5%, US 17.5%, Japan 11%, UK 4%, China, Germany (2000)

Top Exports

Dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery.

Top Imports

Machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, consumer goods, plastics.

Debt - external

US$31.1 billion (2001)

Economic aid

Donor: ODA, $123 million (1995)

Fiscal Year:

July 1 to June 30

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	9a.m. to 4:30p.m.	Closed
Retail	9a.m. to 5:30p.m. Thursdays and Fridays until 9p.m.	Saturday 9a.m. to 12:30p.m. Some shops may be open on Sundays.
Banks	9a.m. to 4:30p.m.	Closed
Government	8:30a.m. to 4:30p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Second Day of New Year	January 2	January 2	January 2
Waitangi Day	February 6	February 6	February 6
Good Friday	April 18	April 9	March 25
Easter¹	April 20	April 11	March 27
Easter Monday	April 21	April 12	March 28
ANZAC Day	April 25	April 25	April 25
Queen's Birthday²	June 2	June 7	June 6
Labor Day³	October 27	October 25	October 24
Christmas Day*¹	December 25	December 25	December 25
Boxing Day	December 26	December 26	December 26

¹	Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
²	Observed the first Monday in June.
³	Observed the fourth Monday in October.
*¹	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press