New Zealand

New Zealand is a country situated in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about 2,000 km southeast of its largest neighbor, Australia, separated by the Tasman Sea. Recognized for its geographic isolation, the country's two major islands—North and South—and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands, are home to a population of about 4.2 million people. New Zealand's territorial domain also includes the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and the Ross Dependency in Antarctica.

To the north, the country's neighboring island nations include Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, and New Caledonia. Aotearoa (translated as “the Land of the Long White Cloud”) was originally used by the indigenous Maori to describe the North Island. The term is used in a modern sense to refer to the entire North Island—Auckland, Hamilton, and Wellington (capital city)—and the South Island's largest city, Christ-church. Other large cities include Dunedin and Tau-ranga. Like other countries with Western economies, New Zealand is a relatively urbanized country, with about 72.2 percent of residents living in 16 main urban areas. More than half of the population lives in the three largest cities.

Reflecting the country's colonial history, New Zealand's people are predominantly of British and Irish ancestry. An estimated 78 percent of New Zealanders identify themselves as being of European descent. According to the 2006 census, indigenous Maori (14.6 percent) are the largest minority in New Zealand, followed by Asian (9.2 percent) and non-Maori Polynesians (6.9 percent).

New Zealand is a constitutional country, a monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. As the symbolic head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is represented by the governor-general of New Zealand, appointed on advice by the political leader, the prime minister, as the nation's head of government. The House of Representatives is the single chamber of the New Zealand parliament. General elections are held every three years under a form of proportional representation called Mixed Member Proportional (MMP).

A unique feature of leadership is the role of women; New Zealand is the only country in which women have simultaneously occupied the highest offices in the land. From March 2005 to August 2006, Queen Elizabeth II, Governor-General Dame Silvia Cart-wright, Prime Minister Helen Clark, Speaker of the House of Representatives Margaret Wilson, and Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias were all in office. Also worthy of note is the fact that at the time, New Zealand's [Page 1211]largest listed company, Telecom New Zealand, had a female chief executive officer, Theresa Gattung.

Recent Economic History

New Zealand's economic growth and prosperity have been built on primary product exports, principally wool, meat, and dairy products, mainly to the United Kingdom. Up until the 1970s, the country's relatively high standard of living depended on its strong trade relationship with Britain. The country's prosperity eroded over the next two decades due to several events, including the world oil crisis and the end of a guaranteed market for commodity exports in 1973, when Britain joined the European Community. Consequently, the nation entered a prolonged economic crisis such that by 1982, per capita income was reported by the World Bank to be the lowest of all developed nations surveyed.

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