Offical Name
New Zealand
(English)
Aotearoa (Maori)

Capital


Wellington

Currency

New Zealand Dollar

Area

270,534 sq Km
(104,453 sq mi)
 
   
 
   
 

Country Name

 conventional long form: none
 conventional short form: New Zealand
 abbreviation: NZ

Government type

 parliamentary democracy

Administrative
divisions

  16 regions (Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay,
 Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman,
 Waikato, Manawatu-Wanganui, Wellington, West Coast)

Location

 Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia

Highest Point

 Mount Cook - 3,754 m (12,316 ft) above sea level.

Lowest Point

 Sea level along the coast.
 Population

 3,908,037 (July 2002 est.)
 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 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

 total population: 78.15 years
 female: 81.27 years (2002 est.)
 male: 75.17 years

Total fertility rate

 1.8 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Ethnic groups

 New Zealand European 74.5%, Maori 9.7%, other European 4.6%, Pacific Islander
 3.8%, Asian and others 7.4%

Religions
  Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%, Methodist 5%,
 Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none 33% (1986)
 Languages

 English (official), Maori (official)

Banks

 8:30am to 4:30pm - can vary slightly
Business Hours

 Monday to Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm.
 (Late night for shopping is either Thursday or Friday. Most shops open
 Saturday morning, with some shops and markets remaining open all weekend,
 in certain resorts and city centres.)
 
   
 
   
 

Climate

Southern temperate zone. Neither excessively hot nor cold. Seasons reversed from Northern Hemisphere.

Currency

Decimal system based on New Zealand dollar, with cent denominations. Coins are 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, 1 and 2 dollars. Notes are 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollars. All major credit cards are accepted widely.

GSTNew Zealand operates a Goods and Services Tax of 12.5% on ALL goods and services sold. It is usually included in the listed price.

Electricity

230 volts AC, 50 hertz. 3 pin appliance plug. Most hotels will have shaver plugs suitable for all international appliance of low power rating, and which will supply 110 and 230 volts.