New Zealand

NEW ZEALAND CONSISTS of two large and a number of smaller islands in the south Pacific Ocean, more than 1,000 miles from its nearest neighbor, Australia. The chain of islands is more than 1,000 miles long but no more than 280 miles across. New Zealand administers the Tokelau group of islands, while the Niue and Cook Islands are autonomous states that are in partnership with New Zealand.

Aotearoa is the alternative name for New Zealand and recalls a name used by indigenous Maori people, who arrived on the islands in about 800. The country was annexed by Britain in 1840, was administered as a colony, and attained full independence as a member of the commonwealth in 1947. It now has a population of just over four million and a generally high standard of living, with an annual per capita Gross Domestic Product in excess of $23,000. The country is a parliamentary democracy, which led the way in permitting votes for women.

The principal industry in New Zealand continues to be agriculture, although industrialization has made strides in the last few decades. Agricultural exports drive economic growth and this is often based on low-cost goods that require low wages. The availability of skilled or semiskilled urban jobs is limited, and although average income and quality-of-life indicators are high by international standards, the picture is mixed within society.

Reliance on agricultural commodity exports resulted in economic slowdown in the 1970s and the existing regulatory regime of protected markets was considered to be uncompetitive. Various reform measures have helped to improve the economic system but at the cost of reduced government services, which necessarily falls hardest upon the most vulnerable.

As an open and generally liberal society, New Zealand has witnessed a great deal of discussion and debate about the issue of poverty in the country. Attention has focused on disadvantaged groups in urban areas and from certain ethnic minorities and migrant communities, particularly Maori and Pacific island peoples who have faced particular difficulties in obtaining access to economic opportunities. The Child Poverty Action Group, for example, was formed in New Zealand in 1994 to meet the need to tackle what it believed was “endemic” and “increasingly intractable” family poverty. Low education and societal expectations exacerbate the problems faced.

The government of New Zealand has taken a leadership role in helping Pacific island nations achieve their Millennium Development Goals, providing assistance with technical consultation, capacity building, and information sharing. This is led by the creation of NZAID (New Zealand International Aid & Development Agency), which has the principal goal of poverty reduction in the Pacific Ocean and also works in east Asian countries and farther afield. It has provided bilateral and multilateral assistance, emergency, and disaster relief, and other forms of aid.

Human Development Index Rank: 19

Human Poverty Index Rank: Not included.