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New Zealand
Anthem: "God Defend New Zealand" "God Save the Queen"[3]
The hemisphere centred on New Zealand
Capital		Wellington 41°17′S 174°27′E / 41.283°S 174.45°E / -41.283; 174.45
Largest city		Auckland
Official language(s)		English (98%)[4] Māori (4.2%) NZ Sign Language (0.6%)
Ethnic groups		78% European/Other[6] 14.6% Māori 9.2% Asian 6.9% Pacific peoples
Demonym		New Zealander, Kiwi (colloquial)
Government		Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy
-	Monarch	Elizabeth II
-	Governor General	Anand Satyanand
-	Prime Minister	John Key
Independence		from the United Kingdom[7]
-	1st Parliament	25 May 1854
-	Dominion	26 September 1907
-	Statute of Westminster	11 December 1931 (adopted 25 November 1947)
-	Constitution Act 1986	13 December 1986
Area
-	Total	268,021 km2 (74th) 103,483 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.6[9]
Population
-	December 2010 estimate	4,393,500[10] (123rd)
-	2006 census	4,027,947[11]
-	Density	16.4/km2 (200th) 42.5/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2010 estimate
-	Total	$117.807 billion[12] (61st)
-	Per capita	$26,966[12] (32nd)
GDP (nominal)		2010 estimate
-	Total	$140.434 billion[12] (51st)
-	Per capita	$32,145[12] (24th)
Gini (1997)		36.2[13] (medium)
HDI (2010)		0.907[14] (very high) (3rd)
Currency		New Zealand dollar (NZD)
Time zone		NZST[15] (UTC+12)
-	Summer (DST)	NZDT (UTC+13)
		(Sep to Apr)
Date formats		dd/mm/yyyy
Drives on the		left
Internet TLD		.nz[16]
Calling code		+64

New Zealand is a country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two large islands (the North Island and the South Island) and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue, which are self-governing but in free association; Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica).

New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation, being separated from Australia to the northwest by the Tasman Sea, approximately 2000 kilometres (1250 miles) across. Its closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga.

The population is mostly of European descent, with the indigenous Māori being the largest minority. Non-Māori Polynesian and Asian people are also significant minorities, especially in the cities. Elizabeth II, as the Queen of New Zealand, is the Head of State and, in her absence, is represented by a non-partisan Governor-General. The Queen 'reigns but does not rule'; she has no real political influence. Her position is largely symbolic. Political power is held by the democratically-elected Parliament of New Zealand under the leadership of the Prime Minister, who is the Head of Government.

1. ↑ New Zealand's National Anthems. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved on 17 February 2008.
2. ↑ Protocol for using New Zealand's National Anthems. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved on 17 February 2008.
3. ↑ "God Save the Queen" is officially a national anthem but is generally used only on regal and vice-regal occasions.^[1][2]
4. ↑ Percentages add to more than 100% because some people speak more than one language. They exclude unusable responses and those who spoke no language (e.g. too young to talk).
5. ↑ (April 2005) "Understanding and Working with Ethnicity Data". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved on 19 September 2010.
6. ↑ Percentages add to more than 100% because some people identify with more than one ethnic group.^[5]
7. ↑ There is a multitude of dates that could be considered to mark independence (see Independence of New Zealand).
8. ↑ The New Zealand Land Cover Database. New Zealand Land Cover Database 2. New Zealand Ministry for the Environment (1 July 2009). Retrieved on 26 April 2011.
9. ↑ The proportion of New Zealand's area (excluding estuaries) covered by rivers, lakes and ponds, based on figures from the New Zealand Land Cover Database,^[8] is (357526 + 81936) / (26821559 - 92499 - 26033 - 19216) = 1.6%. If estuarine open water, mangroves, and herbaceous saline vegetation are included, the figure is 2.2%.
10. ↑ National Population Estimates: December 2010 quarter. Statistics New Zealand (14 February 2010). Retrieved on 19 February 2011.
11. ↑ QuickStats About New Zealand's Population and Dwellings: Population counts. 2006 Census. Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved on 14 April 2011.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3} New Zealand. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved on 14 April 2011.
13. ↑ Equality and inequality: Gini index. Human Development Report 2009. United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved on 14 April 2011.
14. ↑ International Human Development Indicators – New Zealand. United Nations (2010). Retrieved on 28 February 2011.
15. ↑ The Chatham Islands have a separate time zone, 45 minutes ahead of the rest of New Zealand.
16. ↑ The territories of Niue, the Cook Islands and Tokelau have their own cctlds, .nu, .ck and .tk respectively.