New Zealand Maps

New Zealand is an island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country is made up of two main land masses with over 700 smaller islands surrounding. By area, the country is the sixth largest island country in the world, as it covers 268,021 square kilometers, or 103,500 square miles. The capital city is Willington, while the most populated city is Auckland. New Zealand is located around 2,000 kilometers, or 1,200 miles, east of Australia. The government is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. The Queen is Elizabeth II, while the Prime Minister is Jacinda Ardern.

The country’s shape is long and narrow, with a maximum width of 400 kilometers, or 250 miles. The South Island of New Zealand is the largest landmass, and it is divided by the Southern Alps mountain range. Within this mountain range, eighteen different peaks stand at above 3,000 meters, or 9,800 feet. The tallest peak within New Zealand is located here, and it is Aoraki / Mount Cook, standing at an altitude of 3,724 meters, or 12,218 feet. The country has such a varied landscape due to its location along the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates. Because of its geographical isolation, New Zealand is home to many endemic species. One of which is the endemic flightless kiwi, which has been regarded as a national icon. Around 82% of all the plant life found in New Zealand is endemic, which totals up to around 1,944 species. A great majority of New Zealand’s native animals are reptiles, such as tuataras, skinks, and geckos. Other common animals include frogs, spiders, insects, and snails. Different types of seabirds are also very common to find on the island. Did you know that more penguin species are found in New Zealand than any other country? In fact, the country is home to 13 of the world’s 18 penguin species.

New Zealand’s economy is regarded as an advanced market economy. Because of its isolated location, the country is pretty reliant on trade, particularly with agricultural products. In fact, food products make up 55% of all the country’s exports, with wood coming in second place. Between the years 1990 and 2007, the number of dairy farms doubled, easily causing dairy to become the largest export earner in the country. The wine industry has followed a similar path, with the amounts of vineyards also doubling during this period.

Currently, 76.6% of the country’s population lives on the North Island, while 23.3% lives on the South. The five largest cities within the country are Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Hamilton, and Tauranga. 83.9% of the country’s population lives within urban areas, and 51% of the population lives within the top seven most populated cities. In 2018, the median age was estimated to be 37.4 years old. It is projected that by 2050, the median age rises to 43 years and the percentage of those 60 years old and over is also estimated to increase, which is common for developed countries like New Zealand.