NEW ZEALAND                                                                     
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 268,680 km2; land area: 268,670 km2; includes                       
Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island,           
Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands                                           
                                                                                
Comparative area: about the size of Colorado                                    
                                                                                
Land boundaries: none                                                           
                                                                                
Coastline: 15,134 km                                                            
                                                                                
Maritime claims:                                                                
                                                                                
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;                        
                                                                                
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;                                                
                                                                                
Territorial sea: 12 nm                                                          
                                                                                
Disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency)                     
                                                                                
Climate: temperate with sharp regional contrasts                                
                                                                                
Terrain: predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains               
                                                                                
Natural resources: natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber,                   
hydropower, gold, limestone                                                     
                                                                                
Land use: arable land 2%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures              
53%; forest and woodland 38%; other 7%; includes irrigated 1%                   
                                                                                
Environment: earthquakes are common, though usually not severe                  
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 3,308,973 (July 1991), growth rate 0.4% (1991)                      
                                                                                
Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                    
                                                                                
Net migration rate: - 3 migrants/1,000 population (1991)                        
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 10 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                       
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 79 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1991)                            
Nationality: noun--New Zealander(s); adjective--New Zealand                     
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: European 88%, Maori 8.9%, Pacific Islander                    
2.9%, other 0.2%                                                                
                                                                                
Religion: Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%,                   
Methodist 5%, Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none              
9% (1986)                                                                       
                                                                                
Language: English (official), Maori                                             
                                                                                
Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can                        
read and write (1970)                                                           
                                                                                
Labor force: 1,591,900; services 67.4%, manufacturing 19.8%,                    
primary production 9.3% (1987)                                                  
                                                                                
Organized labor: 681,000 members; 43% of labor force (1986)                     
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: none; abbreviated NZ                                            
                                                                                
Type: parliamentary democracy                                                   
                                                                                
Capital: Wellington                                                             
                                                                                
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               
                                                                                
Dependent areas: Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau                                    
                                                                                
Independence: 26 September 1907 (from UK)                                       
                                                                                
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                                                                
                                                                                
Legal system: based on English law, with special land legislation               
and land courts for Maoris; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with           
reservations                                                                    
                                                                                
National holiday: Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established                  
British sovereignty), 6 February (1840)                                         
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime                      
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet                                        
                                                                                
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives (commonly               
called Parliament)                                                              
                                                                                
Judicial branch: High Court, Court of Appeal                                    
                                                                                
Leaders:                                                                        
                                                                                
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)                                                                  
                                                                                
Political parties and leaders:                                                  
National Party (NP; government), James BOLGER;                                  
New Zealand Labor Party (NZLP; opposition), Michael MOORE;                      
New Labor Party (NLP), Jim ANDERTON;                                            
Democratic Party, Neil MORRISON;                                                
Green Party, no official leader;                                                
Socialist Unity Party (SUP; pro-Soviet), Kenneth DOUGLAS                        
                                                                                
Suffrage: universal at age 18                                                   
                                                                                
Elections:                                                                      
                                                                                
House of Representatives--last held on 27 October 1990 (next to be              
held October 1993);                                                             
results--NP 49%, LP 35%, Green Party 7%, New Labor 5%;                          
seats--(97 total) NP 67, LP 29, NLP 1                                           
                                                                                
Communists: SUP about 140, other groups, about 200                              
                                                                                
Member of: ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on                    
11 August 1986), APEC, AsDB, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, IAEA,          
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,                
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, OECD, PCA,            
SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,            
WMO                                                                             
                                                                                
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador-designate Denis Bazely                    
Gordon McLEAN; Chancery at 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington DC 20008;       
telephone (202) 328-4800; there are New Zealand Consulates General in Los       
Angeles and New York;                                                           
                                                                                
US--Ambassador Della M. NEWMAN; Embassy at 29 Fitzherbert Terrace,              
Thorndon, Wellington (mailing address is P. O. Box 1190, Wellington, or         
FPO San Francisco 96690-0001); telephone  64  (4) 722-068; there is a US        
Consulate General in 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          
                                                                                
ECONOMY                                                                         
Overview: Since 1984 the government has been reorienting an                     
agrarian economy dependent on a guaranteed British market to an open            
free market economy that can compete on the global scene. The government        
has hoped that dynamic growth would boost real incomes, reduce                  
inflationary pressures, and permit the expansion of welfare benefits. The       
results have been mixed: inflation is down from double-digit levels             
but growth has been sluggish and unemployment, always a highly sensitive        
issue, has been at a record high 7.4%. In 1988 GDP fell by 1%, in               
1989 grew by a moderate 2.4%, and was flat in 1990.                             
                                                                                
GDP: $40.2 billion, per capita $12,200; real growth rate 0.7%                   
(1990)                                                                          
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.5% (FY90)                                   
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: 7.4% (March 1990)                                            
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $17.6 billion; expenditures $18.3 billion,                     
including capital expenditures of $NA (FY91 est.)                               
                                                                                
Exports: $8.8 billion (f.o.b., FY90);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--wool, lamb, mutton, beef, fruit, fish, cheese,                     
manufactures, chemicals, forestry products;                                     
                                                                                
partners--EC 18.3%, Japan 17.9%, Australia 17.5%, US 13.5%,                     
China 3.6%, South Korea 3.1%                                                    
                                                                                
Imports: $8.1 billion (f.o.b., FY90);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--petroleum, consumer goods, motor vehicles, industrial              
equipment;                                                                      
                                                                                
partners--Australia 19.7%, Japan 16.9%, EC 16.9%, US 15.3%,                     
Taiwan 3.0%                                                                     
                                                                                
External debt: $17.4 billion (1989)                                             
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate 1.9% (1990); accounts for                    
about 20% of GDP                                                                
                                                                                
Electricity: 7,800,000 kW capacity; 28,000 million kWh produced,                
8,500 kWh per capita (1990)                                                     
                                                                                
Industries: food processing, wood and paper products, textiles,                 
machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism,            
mining                                                                          
                                                                                
Agriculture: accounts for about 9% of GNP and 10% of the                        
work force; livestock predominates--wool, meat, dairy products all export       
earners; crops--wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, and                    
vegetables; surplus producer of farm products; fish catch reached a             
record 503,000 metric tons in 1988                                              
                                                                                
Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $526                    
million                                                                         
                                                                                
Currency: New Zealand dollar (plural--dollars);                                 
1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents                                          
                                                                                
Exchange rates: New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1--1.6798 (January             
1991), 1.6750 (1990), 1.6711 (1989), 1.5244 (1988), 1.6886 (1987), 1.9088       
(1986), 2.0064 (1985)                                                           
                                                                                
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June                                                     
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Railroads: 4,716 km total; all 1.067-meter gauge; 274 km double                 
track; 113 km electrified; over 99% government owned                            
                                                                                
Highways: 92,648 km total; 49,547 km paved, 43,101 km gravel or                 
crushed stone                                                                   
                                                                                
Inland waterways: 1,609 km; of little importance to transportation              
                                                                                
Pipelines: 1,000 km natural gas; 160 km refined products; 150 km                
condensate                                                                      
                                                                                
Ports: Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington, Tauranga                    
                                                                                
Merchant marine: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 204,269                  
GRT/281,375 DWT; includes 5 cargo, 1 container, 4 roll-on/roll-off cargo,       
1 railcar carrier, 4 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,              
1 liquefied gas, 5 bulk                                                         
                                                                                
Civil air: about 40 major transport aircraft                                    
                                                                                
Airports: 157 total, 157 usable; 33 with permanent-surface runways;             
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 46 with           
runways 1,220-2,439 m                                                           
                                                                                
Telecommunications: excellent international and domestic systems;               
2,110,000 telephones; stations 64 AM, 2 FM, 14 TV; submarine cables             
extend to Australia and Fiji; 2 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth stations           
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New                   
Zealand Air Force                                                               
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 874,443; 740,831 fit for                    
military service; 28,814 reach military age (20) annually                       
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $832 million, 1-2% of GDP (FY90)                          
                                                                                
