New Zealand: Country overview

Geography

• Full country name: New Zealand or Aotearoa (Maori name).
• Population: 4,418,486 (Statistics New Zealand, 2011).
• Border countries: none.
• Climate: maritime, temperate climate with moderately high rainfall and large amounts of sunshine. The weather can change very rapidly. The South Island is slightly cooler than the North Island.
• Terrain: total land area is around 270,500 square kilometres with forests, volcanoes, mountains, numerous rivers and lakes and a very long coastline compared with total landmass, approximately 15,000 kilometres.
• Natural hazards: earthquakes, volcanic activity, floods, landslides.

Living in New Zealand

• Cost of living: standard of living is high and cost of living relatively low. New migrants generally find that New Zealand offers a good balance between cost of living and lifestyle.
• Utilities: tap water is clean and safe to drink. Electricity is 230V AC, as in Europe. A significant proportion of electricity is generated by hydropower and other renewable energy sources. 
• Internet domain: .nz 
• Health: no vaccination requirements. Good medical insurance is required as medical/hospital services are expensive.
• Laws and customs: there are tough penalties for driving under the influence of drink and large fines for drug possession. Lawsuits are prohibitively expensive, and consumer rights are minimal. Numerous gay and lesbian associations exist throughout country. Civil unions for same-sex, as well as opposite-sex, couples have been taking place since 2005.

Economy and finance

• Currency: New Zealand Dollar (NZD or NZ$).
• Type of economy: western-style, capitalist economy.
• Health of economy: New Zealand has been experiencing an economic downturn. Labour market conditions have weakened, and there are more redundancies and fewer job opportunities. A result of the global financial crisis has been the longest recession the country has seen in over 30 years, with employment rising to 7% in late 2009. Following the earthquake in February 2011, the economy is slowly growing and unemployment slowly falling.
• Unemployment rate: 6.6% (Statistics New Zealand, 2011).
• Main exports: meat, dairy products, fish, forest products, fruits and vegetables, wool, wine.

Culture

• People: the 2006 census revealed the most common ancestry as European 56.8%, followed by Asian 8%, Maori 7.4%, Pacific islander 4.6% and other 13.5%.
• Major religion: Christianity
• History: see BBC Timeline: New Zealand  
• Local etiquette: it is perfectly acceptable and inoffensive to refer to New Zealanders as Kiwis. If invited to a New Zealander's house, take along a small and simple gift. Gifts should be opened as soon as they are received. For business meetings, appointments are usually necessary. Timekeeping is very important and late arrival is considered offensive. Maori customs have developed over many generations, and it essential for any non-Maori visitor to do some research and understand something of the culture, rituals and protocols to avoid personal embarrassment and causing offence to hosts.

Politics

• Type of government: parliamentary democracy and Commonwealth realm.
• Major political parties: ACT New Zealand Party, Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, Maori Party, New Zealand National Party, New Zealand Labour Party, United Future New Zealand, New Zealand Progressive Party, Mana Party.

Travel advice

Find the latest travel advice and a traveller's checklist on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)  website.