New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two mainlandmasses—the North Island (TeIka-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)—andover 700 smallerislands. It is the sixth-largestisland country by area, covering 268,021 square kilometres(103,500 sq mi). New Zealand is about 2,000 kilometres(1,200 mi) east of Australia acrossthe Tasman Sea and 1,000 kilometres(600 mi) south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji,and Tonga. The country's varied topography andsharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions.New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous cityis Auckland.

The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitableland to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in theislands and then developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, the Dutchexplorer Abel Tasman becamethe first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1840, representatives ofthe United Kingdom and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi,which in its English version declared British sovereignty over the islands. In1841, New Zealand became a colony withinthe British Empire.Subsequently, a series of conflicts betweenthe colonial government and Māori tribes resulted inthe alienationand confiscation of large amounts of Māori land. NewZealand became a dominion in1907; it gained full statutoryindependence in 1947, retaining the monarch as head of state. Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 5.1 millionis of European descent;the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealand'sculture is mainly derived from Māori and early Britishsettlers, with recent broadening of culture arising from increased immigration.The official languages areEnglish, Māori, and New Zealand SignLanguage, with the local dialect ofEnglish being dominant.

A developed country, New Zealand ranks 13th inthe Human DevelopmentIndex. The country was the first to introduce a minimum wage, and the first to give women theright to vote. However, the country retains visible levels ofinequality, having structuraldisparities between its Māori and European populations and ahigh rate of child poverty.New Zealand underwent major economic changes duringthe 1980s, which transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy. The service sectordominates the national economy,followed by the industrial sector, and agriculture;international tourism isalso a significant source of revenue. Nationally, legislative authority isvested in an elected, unicameral Parliament,while executive political power is exercised by the Cabinet,led by the primeminister, currently Chris Hipkins. Charles III is the country's king andis represented by the governor-general.In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and67 territorialauthorities for local government purposes. The Realm of New Zealand alsoincludes Tokelau (a dependent territory);the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governingstates in free association withNew Zealand); and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealand's territorialclaim in Antarctica.

New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth ofNations, ANZUS, UKUSA, OECD, ASEAN Plus Six, Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation, the Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum.

The first European visitor to New Zealand, Dutchexplorer Abel Tasman, namedthe islands Staten Land, believing they were part of the Staten Landt that Jacob Le Maire had sighted off thesouthern end of South America.^[14][15] Hendrik Brouwer proved that the SouthAmerican land was a small island in 1643, and Dutch cartographers subsequently renamedTasman's discovery NovaZeelandia from Latin, after the Dutch province of Zeeland.^[14][16] This name was later anglicised to New Zealand.^[17][18]

This was written as Nu Tireni inthe Māori language.In 1834 a document written in Māori and entitled "He Wakaputanga o teRangatiratanga o Nu Tireni" was translated into English and becamethe Declarationof the Independence of New Zealand. It was prepared by TeW(h)akaminenga o Nga Rangatiratanga o Nga Hapu o Nu Tireni, the United Tribesof New Zealand, and a copy was sent to King William IV who had already acknowledgedthe flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, and who recognised thedeclaration in a letter from LordGlenelg.^[19][20]

Aotearoa (pronounced [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa] in Māori and /ˌaʊtɛəˈroʊ.ə/ in English; often translated as 'land of the longwhite cloud')^[21] is the current Māori name forNew Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the whole countrybefore the arrival of Europeans; Aotearoa originally referredto just the North Island.^[22] Māori had several traditionalnames for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui ("thefish of Māui")for the North Island and Te Waipounamu ("the watersof greenstone") or Te Waka o Aoraki ("thecanoe of Aoraki") for the South Island.^[23] Early European maps labelledthe islands North (North Island), Middle (South Island), and South (Stewart Island/ Rakiura).^[24] In 1830, mapmakers began touse "North" and "South" on their maps to distinguish thetwo largest islands, and by 1907, this was the accepted norm.^[18] The New ZealandGeographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the NorthIsland and South Island had never been formalised, and names and alternativenames were formalised in 2013. This set the names as North Island or TeIka-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu.^[25] For each island, either itsEnglish or Māori name can be used, or both can be used together.^[25] Similarly the Māori andEnglish names for the whole country are sometimes used together (AotearoaNew Zealand);^[26][27] however, this has no officialrecognition.^[28]

New Zealand was the last major landmass settled byhumans. The story of Kupe as the first humanto set foot on the New Zealand archipelago, accredited to by most Māori iwi, isconsidered credible by historians; he is generally believed to have existedhistorically.^[32] Most histories claim that in atime approximately 40 generations ago (between 900 and 1200 AD),^[33] The more specific reasons forKupe's semi-legendary journey, and the migration of Māori in general, iscontested. It is thought by some historians that Hawaiki and other Polynesian islands wereexperiencing considerable internal conflict at that time, which is thought tohave caused an exodus from them. Some historians contest that this was becauseof the fallout from the 1257 Samalas eruption,which caused crop devastation globally and possibly helped trigger the Little Ice Age.^[34][35]

Radiocarbon dating,evidence of deforestation^[36] and mitochondrial DNA variabilitywithin Māori populations^[37] suggest that Eastern Polynesians first settled the New Zealandarchipelago between 1250 and 1300,^[23][38] although newer archaeological andgenetic research points to a date no earlier than about 1280, with at least themain settlement period between about 1320 and 1350,^[39][40] consistent with evidence basedon genealogical traditions.^[41][42] This represented a culminationin a long series of voyages through the Pacific islands.^[43] It is the broad consensus ofhistorians that the settlement of New Zealand by Eastern Polynesians was planned anddeliberate.^[44] Over the centuries thatfollowed, the Polynesian settlers developed a distinct culture now known asMāori. The population formed different iwi (tribes)and hapū (subtribes) which would sometimescooperate, sometimes compete and sometimes fight against each other.^[45] At some point, a group ofMāori migrated to Rēkohu, now known as the Chatham Islands, where they developed theirdistinct Moriori culture.^[46][47] The Moriori population was allbut wiped out between 1835 and 1862 in the Moriori genocide, largely because of Taranaki Māori invasion and enslavementin the 1830s, although European diseases also contributed. In 1862, only 101survived, and the last known full-blooded Moriori died in 1933.^[48]

In a hostile 1642 encounter between Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri andDutch explorer Abel Tasman's crew,^[49][50] four of Tasman's crew memberswere killed, and at least one Māori was hit by canister shot.^[51] Europeans did not revisit NewZealand until 1769, when British explorer James Cook mapped almost the entirecoastline.^[50] Following Cook, New Zealandwas visited by numerous European and North American whaling, sealing, and trading ships. They tradedEuropean food, metal tools, weapons, and other goods for timber, Māori food,artefacts, and water.^[52] The introduction of the potatoand the musket transformed Māori agriculture andwarfare. Potatoes provided a reliable food surplus, which enabled longer and moresustained military campaigns.^[53] The resultingintertribal Musket Wars encompassedover 600 battles between 1801 and 1840, killing 30,000–40,000 Māori.^[54] From the early 19th century,Christian missionaries beganto settle New Zealand, eventually converting mostof the Māori population.^[55] The Māori population declinedto around 40% of its pre-contact level during the 19th century; introduceddiseases were the major factor.^[56]

The British Government appointed James Busby as British Resident to NewZealand in 1832 following a petition from northern Māori.^[57] His duties were to protectBritish commerce, mediate between the unruly Pākehā (European) settlers andMāori, and to apprehend escaped convicts.^[57][58] In 1835, following anannouncement of impending French settlement by Charles de Thierry,the nebulous United Tribesof New Zealand sent a Declarationof Independence to King William IVof the United Kingdom asking for protection.^[57] Ongoing unrest, the proposedsettlement of New Zealand by the New Zealand Company (whichhad already sent its first ship of surveyors to buy land from Māori) and thedubious legal standing of the Declaration of Independence prompted the Colonial Office to send Captain William Hobson to claim sovereignty forthe UnitedKingdom and negotiate a treaty with the Māori.^[59] The Treaty of Waitangi wasfirst signed in the Bay of Islands on6 February 1840.^[60] In response to the New ZealandCompany's attempts to establish an independent settlement in Wellington^[61],^[62] Hobson declared British sovereigntyover all of New Zealand on 21 May 1840, even though copies of the treaty werestill circulating throughout the country for Māori to sign.^[63] With the signing of the treatyand declaration of sovereignty, the number of immigrants, particularly from theUnited Kingdom, began to increase.^[64]

New Zealand was administered as part of the Colony of NewSouth Wales until becoming a separate Crown colony, the Colony of New Zealand on3 May 1841.^[65][66] Armed conflict began betweenthe colonial government and Māori in 1843 with the Wairau Affray over land and disagreementsover sovereignty. These conflicts, mainly in the North Island, saw thousands ofimperial troops and the Royal Navy come to New Zealand and became known asthe New Zealand Wars.Following these armed conflicts, large amounts of Māori landwas confiscated by the government to meet settler demands.^[67]

The colony gained a representativegovernment in 1852, and the first Parliament metin 1854.^[68] In 1856 the colony effectivelybecame self-governing, gaining responsibility over all domestic matters(except native policy,which was granted in the mid-1860s).^[68] Following concerns that theSouth Island might form a separate colony, premier Alfred Domett moved a resolution totransfer the capital fromAuckland to a locality near Cook Strait.^[69][70] Wellington was chosen for itscentral location, with Parliament officially sitting there for the first timein 1865.^[71]

In 1886, New Zealand annexed the volcanic Kermadec Islands, about 1,000 km(620 mi) northeast of Auckland. Since 1937, the islands are uninhabitedexcept for about six people at Raoul Island station. These islands putthe northern border of New Zealand at 29 degrees South latitude.^[72] After the 1982 UNCLOS, the islands contributed significantlyto New Zealand's exclusiveeconomic zone.^[73]

In 1891 the Liberal Party cameto power as the first organised political party.^[74] The LiberalGovernment, led by Richard Seddon for most of its period inoffice,^[75] passed many important socialand economic measures. In 1893 New Zealand was the first nation in the world togrant all women theright to vote^[74] and in 1894 pioneeredthe adoption of compulsory arbitration betweenemployers and unions.^[76] The Liberals also guaranteed aminimum wage in 1894, a world first.^[77]

In 1907, at the request of the New Zealand Parliament,King Edward VII proclaimed New Zealand a Dominion withinthe British Empire,^[78] reflecting its self-governingstatus.^[79] In 1947 the country adopted the Statute ofWestminster, confirming that the British Parliament couldno longer legislate for New Zealand without the consent of New Zealand.^[68]

Early in the 20th century, New Zealand was involved in worldaffairs, fighting in the First and Second World Wars^[80] and suffering throughthe Great Depression.^[81] The depression led to theelection of the firstLabour Government and the establishment of acomprehensive welfare state anda protectionist economy.^[82] New Zealand experiencedincreasing prosperity following the Second World War,^[83] and Māori began to leave theirtraditional rural life and move to the cities in search of work.^[84] A Māori protestmovement developed, which criticised Eurocentrism and worked for greaterrecognition of Māori culture andof the Treaty of Waitangi.^[85] In 1975, a Waitangi Tribunal was set up toinvestigate alleged breaches of the Treaty, and it was enabled to investigatehistoric grievances in 1985.^[60] The government hasnegotiated settlementsof these grievances with many iwi,^[86] although Māoriclaims to the foreshore and seabed proved controversial in the2000s.^[87][88]

New Zealand is a constitutionalmonarchy with a parliamentarydemocracy,^[89] although itsconstitution is not codified.^[90] Charles III is the king of New Zealand^[91] and thus the head of state.^[92] The king is represented bythe governor-general,whom he appoints on the advice ofthe primeminister.^[93] The governor-general canexercise the Crown's prerogative powers,such as reviewing cases of injustice and making appointments of ministers,ambassadors, and other key public officials,^[94] and in rare situations,the reserve powers (e.g.the power to dissolve parliament or refuse the royal assent of a bill into law).^[95] The powers of the monarch andthe governor-general are limited by constitutional constraints, and they cannotnormally be exercised without the advice of ministers.^[95]

The New ZealandParliament holds legislative power and consists of theking and the Houseof Representatives.^[96] It also included an upperhouse, the LegislativeCouncil, until this was abolished in 1950.^[96] The supremacy ofparliament over the Crown and other government institutions wasestablished in England by the Bill of Rights 1689 andhas been ratified as law in New Zealand.^[96] The House of Representativesis democratically elected, and a government is formed from the party or coalition withthe majority of seats. If no majority is formed, a minority government canbe formed if support from other parties during confidence and supply votesis assured.^[96] The governor-general appointsministers under advice from the prime minister, who is by convention the parliamentary leader ofthe governing party or coalition.^[97] Cabinet,formed by ministers and led by the prime minister, is the highest policy-makingbody in government and responsible for deciding significant government actions.^[98] Members of Cabinet make majordecisions collectively and are therefore collectivelyresponsible for the consequences of these decisions.^[99]

A parliamentarygeneral election must be called no later than three years afterthe previous election.^[100] Almost all general electionsbetween 1853 and 1993 wereheld under the first-past-the-postvoting system.^[101] Since the 1996election, a form of proportionalrepresentation called mixed-memberproportional (MMP) has been used.^[90] Under the MMP system, eachperson has two votes; one is for a candidate standing in the voter's electorate,and the other is for a party. Based on the 2018 census data, there are 72electorates (which include seven Māori electorates inwhich only Māori can optionally vote),^[102] and the remaining 48 of the120 seats are assigned so that representation in parliament reflects the partyvote, with the threshold that a party must win at least one electorate or 5% ofthe total party vote before it is eligible for a seat.^[103]

Elections since the 1930s have been dominated by twopolitical parties, National and Labour.^[101] Between March 2005 and August2006, New Zealand became the first country in the world in which all thehighest offices in the land – head of state, governor-general, primeminister, speaker, and chief justice –were occupied simultaneously by women.^[104] The country has had threefemale prime ministers.^[105] The current prime minister,since 25 January 2023, is Chris Hipkins, the Member of Parliamentfor Remutaka since2008.^[106]

New Zealand'sjudiciary, headed by the chief justice,^[107] includes the Supreme Court, Court ofAppeal, the High Court,and subordinate courts.^[108] Judges and judicial officersare appointed non-politically and under strict rules regarding tenure to helpmaintain judicial independence.^[90] This theoretically allows thejudiciary to interpret the law based solely on the legislation enacted byParliament without other influences on their decisions.^[109]

New Zealand is identified as one of the world's moststable and well-governed states.^[110] As of 2017, the countrywas ranked fourth in the strength of its democratic institutions,^[111] and first in governmenttransparency and lack ofcorruption.^[112] New Zealand ranks highly forcivic participation in the political process, with 82% voter turnout during recent generalelections, compared to an OECD average of 69%.^[113] However, this is untrue forlocal council elections; a historically low 36% of eligible New Zealandersvoted in the 2022 localelections, compared with an already low 42% turnout in 2019.^{[114][115][116]} A 2017 humanrights report by the UnitedStates Department of State noted that the New Zealandgovernment generally respected therights of individuals, but voiced concerns regarding the socialstatus of the Māori population.^[117] In terms of structuraldiscrimination, the New Zealand HumanRights Commission has asserted that there is strong, consistentevidence that it is a real and ongoing socioeconomic issue.^[118] One example of structuralinequality in New Zealand can be seen in the criminal justice system. Accordingto the Ministryof Justice, Māori are overrepresented, comprising 45% of NewZealanders convicted of crimes and 53% of those imprisoned.^[119][120] New Zealand has 12.0% ofchildren living in low-income households that had less than 50 percent of themedian equivalised disposable household income as of June 2022.^[121] Child poverty affects has adisproportionately high effect on in Māori and Pasifika households,with a quarter (23.3%) of Māori children and almost a third (28.6%) of Pasifikachildren living in poverty as of 2020.^[122]

See also: Internationalrankings of New Zealand

Foreign relations and military

During the period of the New Zealand colony, Britain wasresponsible for external trade and foreign relations.^[123] The 1923 and 1926 Imperial Conferences decidedthat New Zealand should be allowed to negotiate its own political treaties, and the first commercial treaty wasratified in 1928 with Japan. On 3 September 1939, New Zealand allied itselfwith Britain and declared war onGermany with Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage proclaiming,"Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand".^[124]

In 1951 the United Kingdom became increasingly focused onits European interests,^[125] while New Zealandjoined Australia andthe UnitedStates in the ANZUS security treaty.^[126] The influence of the UnitedStates on New Zealand weakened following protests over the Vietnam War,^[127] the refusal of the UnitedStates to admonish France after the sinking ofthe Rainbow Warrior,^[128] disagreements overenvironmental and agricultural trade issues, and New Zealand'snuclear-free policy.^[129][130] Despite the United States'ssuspension of ANZUS obligations, the treaty remained in effect between NewZealand and Australia, whose foreign policy has followed a similar historicaltrend.^[131] Close political contact ismaintained between the two countries, with free tradeagreements and travelarrangements that allow citizens to visit, live and work inboth countries without restrictions.^[132] In 2013 there were about650,000 New Zealand citizens living in Australia, which is equivalent to 15% ofthe population of New Zealand.^[133]

New Zealand has a strong presence among the Pacific Island countries.^[134] A large proportion of NewZealand's aid goes to these countries, and many Pacific people migrate to NewZealand for employment.^[135] Permanent migration isregulated under the 1970 Samoan Quota Scheme and the 2002 Pacific AccessCategory, which allow up to 1,100 Samoan nationals and up to 750 other PacificIslanders respectively to become permanent New Zealand residents each year. Aseasonal workers scheme for temporary migration was introduced in 2007, and in2009 about 8,000 Pacific Islanders were employed under it.^[136] New Zealand is involved inthe Pacific Islands Forum,the Pacific Community, Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation, and the Associationof Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (including the East Asia Summit).^[132] New Zealand has beendescribed as a middle power inthe Asia-Pacific region,^[137] and an emerging power.^[138][139] The country is a member ofthe UnitedNations,^[140] the Commonwealth ofNations^[141] and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),^[142] and participates in the Five PowerDefence Arrangements.^[143]

New Zealand's military services—the DefenceForce—comprise the New Zealand Army,the Royal NewZealand Air Force, and the Royal New ZealandNavy.^[144] New Zealand's national defence needs are modest since adirect attack is unlikely.^[145] However, its militaryhas had aglobal presence. The country fought in both world wars, with notablecampaigns in Gallipoli, Crete,^[146] El Alamein,^[147] and Cassino.^[148] The Gallipoli campaign playedan important part in fostering New Zealand's national identity^[149][150] and strengthened the ANZAC traditionit shares with Australia.^[151]

In addition to Vietnam and the two world wars, NewZealand fought in the Second Boer War,^[152] the Korean War,^[153] the Malayan Emergency,^[154] the Gulf War, and the AfghanistanWar. It has contributed forces to several regional and globalpeacekeeping missions, such as those in Cyprus, Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Sinai, Angola, Cambodia,the Iran–Iraq border, Bougainville, East Timor, and the Solomon Islands.^[155]

New Zealand is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing agreement,known formally as the UKUSA Agreement. The five members of thisagreement are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and theUnited States.^[156]

Since 2012, New Zealand has had a partnership arrangementwith NATO underthe Partnership Interoperability Initiative.^{[157][158][159]}

Local government and external territories

The early European settlers divided New Zealandinto provinces,which had a degree of autonomy.^[160] Because of financialpressures and the desire to consolidate railways, education, land sales, andother policies, government was centralised and the provinces were abolished in1876.^[161] The provinces are rememberedin regionalpublic holidays^[162] and sporting rivalries.^[163]

Since 1876, various councils have administered localareas under legislation determined by the central government.^[160][164] In 1989, the governmentreorganised local government into the current two-tier structure of regional councils and territorialauthorities.^[165] The 249 municipalities^[165] that existed in 1975 have nowbeen consolidated into 67 territorial authorities and 11 regional councils.^[166] The regional councils' roleis to regulate "the natural environment with particular emphasis on resourcemanagement",^[165] while territorial authoritiesare responsible for sewage, water, local roads, building consents, and otherlocal matters.^[167][168] Five of the territorialcouncils are unitary authorities andalso act as regional councils.^[168] The territorial authoritiesconsist of 13 city councils, 53 district councils,and the Chatham Islands Council.While officially the Chatham Islands Council is not a unitary authority, itundertakes many functions of a regional council.^[169]

The Realm of New Zealand, one of 15 Commonwealth realms,^[170] is the entire area over whichthe king of New Zealand is sovereign and comprises NewZealand, Tokelau, the Ross Dependency, the Cook Islands, and Niue.^[89] The Cook Islands and Niue areself-governing states in free association with New Zealand.^[171][172] The New Zealand Parliamentcannot pass legislation for these countries, but with their consent can act onbehalf of them in foreign affairs and defence. Tokelau is classified as a non-self-governing territory, but isadministered by a council of three elders (one from each Tokelauan atoll).^[173] The Ross Dependency is NewZealand's territorialclaim in Antarctica, where it operates the Scott Base research facility.^[174] New Zealandnationality law treats all parts of the realm equally, so mostpeople born in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and the RossDependency are New Zealand citizens.^{[175][n 7]}

New Zealand is located near the centre of the water hemisphere and is made up of twomain islands and more than 700 smallerislands.^[177] The two main islands(the North Island,or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu)are separated by Cook Strait, 22kilometres (14 mi) wide at its narrowest point.^[178] Besides the North and SouthIslands, the five largest inhabited islands are Stewart Island (across the Foveaux Strait), Chatham Island, Great Barrier Island (inthe Hauraki Gulf),^[179] D'UrvilleIsland (in the Marlborough Sounds)^[180] and Waiheke Island (about 22 km(14 mi) from central Auckland).^[181]

New Zealand is long and narrow—over 1,600 kilometres(990 mi) along its north-north-east axis with a maximum width of 400kilometres (250 mi)^[182]—with about 15,000 km(9,300 mi) of coastline^[183] and a total land area of268,000 square kilometres (103,500 sq mi).^[184] Because of its far-flungoutlying islands and long coastline, the country has extensive marineresources. Its exclusiveeconomic zone is one of the largest in the world, covering morethan 15 times its land area.^[185]

The South Island is the largest landmass of New Zealand.It is divided along its length by the Southern Alps.^[186] There are 18 peaks over 3,000metres (9,800 ft), the highest of which is Aoraki / MountCook at 3,724 metres (12,218 ft).^[187] Fiordland's steep mountains and deep fiords recordthe extensive ice age glaciation of this southwestern corner of the SouthIsland.^[188] The North Island is lessmountainous but is marked byvolcanism.^[189] The highly active Taupō Volcanic Zone hasformed a large volcanicplateau, punctuated by the North Island's highest mountain, Mount Ruapehu (2,797 metres(9,177 ft)). The plateau also hosts the country's largest lake, Lake Taupō,^[177] nestled in the caldera of one of the world's mostactive supervolcanoes.^[190] New Zealand is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The country owes its varied topography, and perhaps evenits emergence above the waves, to the dynamic boundary it straddles betweenthe Pacific and Indo-AustralianPlates.^[191] New Zealand is part of Zealandia, a microcontinent nearly half the size ofAustralia that gradually submerged after breaking away from the Gondwanan supercontinent.^[192][193] About 25 million years ago, ashift in plate tectonic movementsbegan to contort and crumple theregion. This is now most evident in the Southern Alps, formed by compression of thecrust beside the Alpine Fault. Elsewhere, the plate boundaryinvolves the subduction of oneplate under the other, producing the Puysegur Trench to the south, the Hikurangi Trench east of the NorthIsland, and the Kermadec and Tonga Trenches^[194] further north.^[191]

New Zealand, together with Australia, is part of a regionknown as Australasia.^[195] It also forms thesouthwestern extremity of the geographic and ethnographic region called Polynesia.^[196] Oceania is a wider region encompassing the Australian continent,New Zealand, and various island countries in the Pacific Ocean that are notincluded in the seven-continent model.^[197]

Climate

New Zealand's climate is predominantly temperate maritime (Köppen:Cfb), with mean annual temperatures ranging from 10 °C (50 °F) in thesouth to 16 °C (61 °F) in the north.^[198] Historical maxima and minima are 42.4 °C(108.32 °F) in Rangiora, Canterbury and −25.6 °C(−14.08 °F) in Ranfurly, Otago.^[199] Conditions vary sharplyacross regions from extremely wet on the West Coast ofthe South Island to semi-arid in Central Otago and the Mackenzie Basin of inland Canterburyand subtropical in Northland.^[200][201] Of the seven largestcities, Christchurch isthe driest, receiving on average only 618 millimetres (24.3 in) of rainper year and Wellington the wettest, receiving almost twice that amount.^[202] Auckland, Wellington andChristchurch all receive a yearly average of more than 2,000 hours of sunshine.The southern and southwestern parts of the South Island have a cooler andcloudier climate, with around 1,400–1,600 hours; the northern and northeasternparts of the South Island are the sunniest areas of the country and receiveabout 2,400–2,500 hours.^[203] The general snow season isearly June until early October, though cold snaps can occur outside this season.^[204] Snowfall is common in theeastern and southern parts of the South Island and mountain areas across thecountry.^[198]

Biodiversity

New Zealand's geographic isolation for80 million years^[206] and island biogeography has influenced evolution ofthe country's species of animals, fungi and plants.Physical isolation has caused biological isolation, resulting in a dynamicevolutionary ecology with examples of distinctive plants and animals as well aspopulations of widespread species.^[207][208] The flora and fauna of NewZealand were originally thought to have originated from New Zealand'sfragmentation off from Gondwana, however more recent evidence postulatesspecies resulted from dispersal.^[209] About 82% of New Zealand'sindigenous vascular plants are endemic, covering 1,944 species across65 genera.^[210][211] The number of fungi recordedfrom New Zealand, including lichen-forming species, is not known, nor is theproportion of those fungi which are endemic, but one estimate suggests thereare about 2,300 species of lichen-forming fungi in New Zealand^[210] and 40% of these are endemic.^[212] The two main types of forestare those dominated by broadleaf trees with emergent podocarps, or by southern beech in cooler climates.^[213] The remaining vegetationtypes consist of grasslands, the majority of which are tussock.^[214]

Before the arrival of humans, an estimated 80% of theland was covered in forest, with only high alpine, wet, infertile and volcanic areaswithout trees.^[215] Massive deforestation occurredafter humans arrived, with around half the forest cover lost to fire afterPolynesian settlement.^[216] Much of the remaining forestfell after European settlement, being logged or cleared to make room forpastoral farming, leaving forest occupying only 23% of the land.^[217]

The forests were dominated by birds, andthe lack of mammalian predators led to some like the kiwi, kākāpō, weka and takahē evolving flightlessness.^[218] The arrival of humans,associated changes to habitat, and the introduction of rats, ferrets and other mammals led tothe extinction of many bird species,including large birds like the moa and Haast's eagle.^[219][220]

Other indigenous animals are represented by reptiles (tuatara, skinks and geckos), frogs,^[221] such as the protectedendangered Hamilton's Frog, spiders,^[222] insects (wētā),^[223] and snails.^[224] Some, such as the tuatara,are so unique that they have been called living fossils.^[225] Three species of bats (one sinceextinct) were the only sign of native land mammals in New Zealand until the2006 discovery of bones from a unique, mouse-sizedland mammal at least 16 million years old.^[226][227] Marine mammals, however, areabundant, with almost half the world's cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) and large numbers of fur seals reported in New Zealand waters.^[228] Many seabirds breed in NewZealand, a third of them unique to the country.^[229] More penguin speciesare found in New Zealand than in any other country, with 13 of the world's 18penguin species.^[230]

Since human arrival, almost half of the country'svertebrate species have become extinct, including at least fifty-one birds,three frogs, three lizards, one freshwater fish, and one bat. Others areendangered or have had their range severely reduced.^[219] However, New Zealandconservationists have pioneered several methods to help threatened wildliferecover, including island sanctuaries, pest control, wildlife translocation,fostering and ecological restoration of islands andother protectedareas.^{[231][232][233][234]}

New Zealand has an advanced market economy,^[235] ranked 13th in the 2021 Human DevelopmentIndex,^[11] and fourth in the 2022 Index of EconomicFreedom.^[236] It is a high-income economy witha nominal gross domesticproduct (GDP) per capita of US$36,254.^[237] The currency is the New Zealand dollar,informally known as the "Kiwi dollar"; it also circulates in the CookIslands (see Cook Islands dollar),Niue, Tokelau, and the Pitcairn Islands.^[238]

Historically, extractive industries have contributedstrongly to New Zealand's economy, focusing at different times on sealing,whaling, flax, gold, kauri gum, and native timber.^[239] The first shipment ofrefrigerated meat on the Dunedin in 1882 led to theestablishment of meat and dairy exports to Britain, a trade which provided thebasis for strong economic growth in New Zealand.^[240] High demand for agriculturalproducts from the United Kingdom and the United States helped New Zealandersachieve higher living standards than both Australia and Western Europe in the1950s and 1960s.^[241] In 1973, New Zealand's exportmarket was reduced when the United Kingdom joined the EuropeanEconomic Community^[242] and other compoundingfactors, such as the 1973 oil and 1979 energy crises, led to a severe economic depression.^[243] Living standards in NewZealand fell behind those of Australia and Western Europe, and by 1982 NewZealand had the lowest per-capita income of all the developed nations surveyedby the World Bank.^[244] In the mid-1980s New Zealandderegulated its agriculturalsector by phasing out subsidies overa three-year period.^[245][246] Since 1984, successivegovernments engaged in major macroeconomic restructuring (known firstas Rogernomics and then Ruthanasia), rapidly transforming New Zealandfrom a protectionist andhighly regulated economy to a liberalised free-trade economy.^[247][248]

Unemployment peaked just above 10% in 1991 and 1992,^[250] following the 1987 share market crash,but eventually fell to a record low (since 1986) of 3.7% in 2007 (ranking thirdfrom twenty-seven comparable OECD nations).^[250] However, the globalfinancial crisis that followed had a major impact on NewZealand, with the GDP shrinking for five consecutive quarters, the longestrecession in over thirty years,^[251][252] and unemployment rising backto 7% in late 2009.^[253] Unemployment rates fordifferent age groups follow similar trends but are consistently higher amongyouth. In the December 2014 quarter, the general unemployment rate was around5.8%, while the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 21 was 15.6%.^[250] New Zealand has experienced aseries of "brain drains"since the 1970s^[254] that still continue today.^[255] Nearly one-quarter of highlyskilled workers live overseas, mostly in Australia and Britain, which is thelargest proportion from any developed nation.^[256] In recent decades, however, a"brain gain" has brought in educated professionals from Europe andless developed countries.^[257][258] Today New Zealand's economybenefits from a high level of innovation.^[259]

Trade

New Zealand is heavily dependent on international trade,^[260] particularly in agriculturalproducts.^[261] Exports account for 24% ofits output,^[183] making New Zealand vulnerableto international commodity prices and global economic slowdowns. Food products made up 55%of the value of all the country's exports in 2014; wood was the second largestearner (7%).^[262] New Zealand's main tradingpartners, as at June 2018, are China (NZ$27.8b),Australia ($26.2b), the European Union ($22.9b), the UnitedStates ($17.6b), and Japan ($8.4b).^[263] On 7 April 2008, New Zealandand China signed the NewZealand–China Free Trade Agreement, the first such agreement Chinahas signed with a developed country.^[264] The service sector is thelargest sector in the economy, followed by manufacturing and construction andthen farming and raw material extraction.^[183] Tourism playsa significant role in the economy, contributing $12.9 billion (or 5.6%) to NewZealand's total GDP and supporting 7.5% of the total workforce in 2016.^[265] In 2017, internationalvisitor arrivals were expected to increase at a rate of 5.4% annually up to2022.^[265]

Wool was New Zealand's major agricultural export duringthe late 19th century.^[239] Even as late as the 1960s itmade up over a third of all export revenues,^[239] but since then its price hassteadily dropped relative to other commodities,^[266] and wool is no longerprofitable for many farmers.^[267] In contrast, dairy farming increased,with the number of dairy cows doubling between 1990 and 2007,^[268] to become New Zealand'slargest export earner.^[269] In the year to June 2018,dairy products accounted for 17.7% ($14.1 billion) of total exports,^[263] and the country's largestcompany, Fonterra, controls almost one-third of theinternational dairy trade.^[270] Other exports in 2017–18 weremeat (8.8%), wood and wood products (6.2%), fruit (3.6%), machinery (2.2%) andwine (2.1%).^[263] New Zealand's wine industry has followeda similar trend to dairy, the number of vineyards doubling over the sameperiod,^[271] overtaking wool exports forthe first time in 2007.^[272][273]

Infrastructure

In 2015, renewableenergy generated 40.1% of New Zealand's grossenergy supply.^[274] The majority of thecountry's electricitysupply is generated from hydroelectricpower, with major schemes on the Waikato, Waitaki and Clutha / Mata-Au rivers,as well as at Manapouri. Geothermalpower is also a significant generator of electricity, withseveral large stations located across the Taupō Volcanic Zone in the NorthIsland. The four main companies in the generation and retail market are Contact Energy, Genesis Energy, Mercury Energy and Meridian Energy. State-owned Transpower operatesthe high-voltage transmission grids in the North and South Islands, as well asthe Inter-Island HVDC link connectingthe two together.^[274]

The provision of watersupply and sanitation is generally of good quality. Regionalauthorities provide water abstraction, treatment and distributioninfrastructure to most developed areas.^[275][276]

New Zealand'stransport network comprises 94,000 kilometres (58,410 mi)of roads, including 199 kilometres (124 mi) of motorways,^[277] and 4,128 kilometres(2,565 mi) of railway lines.^[183] Most major cities and townsare linked by bus services, although the private car is the predominant mode oftransport.^[278] The railways wereprivatised in 1993 but were re-nationalised by the government in stages between2004 and 2008. The state-owned enterprise KiwiRail now operates the railways, withthe exception of commuter services in Auckland and Wellington, which areoperated by Auckland One Rail and Transdev Wellington respectively.^[279] Railways run the length ofthe country, although most lines now carry freight rather than passengers.^[280] The road and rail networks inthe two main islands are linked by roll-on/roll-off ferries betweenWellington and Picton,operated by Interislander (partof KiwiRail) and Bluebridge. Mostinternational visitors arrive via air.^[281] New Zealand has fourinternational airports: Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington;however, only Auckland and Christchurch offer non-stop flights to countriesother than Australia or Fiji.^[282]

The New Zealand PostOffice had a monopoly over telecommunicationsin New Zealand until 1987 when Telecom New Zealand was formed, initiallyas a state-owned enterprise and then privatised in 1990.^[283] Chorus, which was split from Telecom (nowSpark) in 2011,^[284] still owns the majority ofthe telecommunications infrastructure, but competition from other providers hasincreased.^[283] A large-scale rollout ofgigabit-capable fibre to the premises,branded as Ultra-Fast Broadband,began in 2009 with a target of being available to 87% of the population by2022.^[285] As of 2017, the UnitedNations InternationalTelecommunication Union ranks New Zealand 13th in thedevelopment of information and communications infrastructure.^[286]

Science and technology

Early indigenous contribution to science in New Zealandwas by Māori tohunga accumulatingknowledge of agricultural practice and the effects of herbal remedies in thetreatment of illness and disease.^[287] Cook's voyages in the 1700s and Darwin's in 1835 had important scientificbotanical and zoological objectives.^[288] The establishment ofuniversities in the 19th century fostered scientific discoveries by notable NewZealanders including Ernest Rutherford for splitting theatom, WilliamPickering for rocket science, Maurice Wilkins for helping discoverDNA, Beatrice Tinsley forgalaxy formation, Archibald McIndoe forplastic surgery, and Alan MacDiarmid for conducting polymers.^[289]

Crown ResearchInstitutes (CRIs) were formed in 1992 from existinggovernment-owned research organisations. Their role is to research and developnew science, knowledge, products and services across the economic,environmental, social and cultural spectrum for the benefit of New Zealand.^[290] The total gross expenditureon research anddevelopment (R&D) as a proportion of GDP rose to 1.37% in2018, up from 1.23% in 2015. New Zealand ranks 21st in the OECD for its grossR&D spending as a percentage of GDP.^[291] New Zealand was ranked 24thin the Global InnovationIndex in 2022.^[292]

The 2018 New Zealandcensus enumerated a resident population of 4,699,755, anincrease of 10.8% over the 2013 census figure.^[3] As of June 2023, the totalpopulation has risen to an estimated 5,219,150.^[7] New Zealand's populationincreased at a rate of 1.9% per year in the seven years ended June 2020. InSeptember 2020 Statistics NewZealand reported that the population had climbed above 5million people in September 2019, according to population estimates based onthe 2018 census.^{[293][n 8]}

New Zealand's population today is concentrated to thenorth of the country, with around 76.5% of the population living in the NorthIsland and 23.4% in the South Island as of June 2022.^[295] During the 20th century, NewZealand's population drifted north.In 1921, the country's median centre ofpopulation was located in the Tasman Sea west of Levin in Manawatū-Whanganui;by 2017, it had moved 280 km (170 mi) north to near Kawhia in Waikato.^[296]

New Zealand is a predominantly urban country, with 83.6%of the population living in urban areas,and 50.4% of the population living in the seven cities with populationsexceeding 100,000.^[295] Auckland, with over 1.4 million residents, isby far the largest city.^[295] New Zealand cities generallyrank highly on international livability measures. For instance, in 2016,Auckland was ranked the world's third most liveable city andWellington the twelfth by the Mercer Quality of Living Survey.^[297]

The median age of the New Zealand populationat the 2018 census was 37.4 years,^[298] with life expectancy in 2017–2019being 80.0 years for males and 83.5 years for females.^[299] While New Zealand isexperiencing sub-replacementfertility, with a total fertility rate of 1.6 in 2020, the fertilityrate is above the OECD average.^[300][301] By 2050, the median age isprojected to rise to 43 years and the percentage of people 60 years of age andolder to rise from 18% to 29%.^[302] In 2016 the leading cause ofdeath was cancer at 30.3%, followed by ischaemic heartdisease (14.9%) and cerebrovasculardisease (7.4%).^[303] As of 2016, total expenditureon health care (includingprivate sector spending) is 9.2% of GDP.^[304]

Ethnicity and immigration

In the 2018 census,71.8% of New Zealand residents identified ethnically as European, and 16.5%as Māori. Other majorethnic groups include Asian (15.3%)and Pacific peoples (9.0%),two-thirds of whom live in the Auckland Region.^{[n 3][3]} The population has become moremulticultural and diverse in recent decades: in 1961, the census reported thatthe population of New Zealand was 92% European and 7% Māori, with Asian andPacific minorities sharing the remaining 1%.^[305]

While the demonym for a New Zealand citizen is NewZealander, the informal "Kiwi" is commonly used bothinternationally^[306] and by locals.^[307] The Māori loanword Pākehā has been used to referto New Zealanders ofEuropean descent, although some reject this name. The word today isincreasingly used to refer to all non-Polynesian New Zealanders.^[308]

The Māori were the first people to reach New Zealand,followed by the early European settlers.Following colonisation, immigrants were predominantly from Britain, Ireland andAustralia because of restrictive policies similar to the White Australiapolicy.^[309] There was alsosignificant Dutch, Dalmatian,^[310] German, and Italian immigration, together withindirect European immigration through Australia, North America, South Americaand South Africa.^[311][312] Net migration increased afterthe Second World War;in the 1970s and 1980s policies on immigration were relaxed, and immigrationfrom Asia was promoted.^[312][313] In 2009–10, an annual targetof 45,000–50,000 permanent residence approvals was set by the New ZealandImmigration Service—more than one new migrant for every 100 New Zealandresidents.^[314] In the 2018 census, 27.4% ofpeople counted were not born in New Zealand, up from 25.2% in the 2013 census.Over half (52.4%) of New Zealand's overseas-born population lives in theAuckland Region.^[315] The United Kingdom remainsthe largest source of New Zealand's immigrant population, with around a quarterof all overseas-born New Zealanders born there; other major sources of NewZealand's overseas-born population are China, India, Australia, South Africa, Fiji and Samoa.^[316] The number offee-paying internationalstudents increased sharply in the late 1990s, with more than20,000 studying in public tertiary institutions in2002.^[317]

Language

English is the predominant language in New Zealand,spoken by 95.4% of the population.^[3] New Zealand English isa variety of the language with a distinctive accent andlexicon.^[319] It is similar to Australian English,and many speakers from the Northern Hemisphere are unable to tell the accentsapart.^[320] The most prominentdifferences between the New Zealand English dialect and other English dialectsare the shifts in the short front vowels: the short-i sound (asin kit) has centralised towards the schwa sound(the a in comma and about); theshort-e sound (as in dress) has moved towards theshort-i sound; and the short-a sound (as in trap)has moved to the short-e sound.^[321]

After the Second World War, Māori were discouraged orforced from speaking their own language (te reo Māori) in schools and workplaces,and it existed as a community language only in a few remote areas.^[322] The Native Schools Act 1867required instruction in English in all schools, and while there was no officialpolicy banning children from speaking Māori, many suffered from physical abuse if they did so.^{[323][324][325]} The Māori language hasrecently undergone a process of revitalisation,^[326] being declared one of NewZealand's official languages in 1987,^[327] and is spoken by 4.0% of thepopulation.^{[3][n 9]} There are now Māorilanguage-immersion schools and two television channels that broadcastpredominantly in Māori.^[329] Manyplaces have both their Māori and English names officiallyrecognised.^[330]

As recorded in the 2018 census,^[3] Samoan is the most widely spokennon-official language (2.2%), followed by "Northern Chinese"(including Mandarin,2.0%), Hindi (1.5%), and French (1.2%). New Zealand SignLanguage was reported to be understood by 22,986 people (0.5%);it became one of New Zealand's official languages in 2006.^[331]

Religion

Christianity isthe predominant religion in New Zealand, although its society is among themost secular in the world.^[333][334] In the 2018 census, 44.7% ofrespondents identified with one or more religions, including 37.0% identifyingas Christians. Another 48.5% indicated that they had no religion.^{[n 10][3]} Of those who affiliate with aparticular Christian denomination, the main responses are Anglicanism (6.7%),^{[n 11]} RomanCatholicism (6.3%), and Presbyterianism (4.7%).^[3] The Māori-based Ringatū and Rātana religions (1.2%) are alsoChristian in origin.^[3][332] Immigration and demographicchange in recent decades have contributed to the growth of minority religions,such as Hinduism (2.6%), Islam (1.3%), Buddhism (1.1%),and Sikhism (0.9%).^[3] The Auckland Region exhibitedthe greatest religious diversity.^[335]

Education

Main articles: Education in NewZealand and Tertiaryeducation in New Zealand

Primary and secondary schooling is compulsory forchildren aged 6 to 16, with the majority of children attending from the age of5.^[336] There are 13 school years andattending state (public) schools isfree to New Zealand citizens and permanent residents from a person's 5thbirthday to the end of the calendar year following their 19th birthday.^[337] New Zealand has an adultliteracy rate of 99%,^[183] and over half of thepopulation aged 15 to 29 hold a tertiary qualification.^[336] There are five types ofgovernment-owned tertiary institutions: universities, colleges of education, polytechnics,specialist colleges, and wānanga,^[338] in addition to privatetraining establishments.^[339] In the adult population,14.2% have a bachelor's degree orhigher, 30.4% have some form of secondary qualification as their highestqualification, and 22.4% have no formal qualification.^[340] The OECD's Programmefor International Student Assessment ranks New Zealand'seducation system as the seventh-best in the world, with students performingexceptionally well in reading, mathematics and science.^[341]

Early Māori adapted the tropically based east Polynesian culture inline with the challenges associated with a larger and more diverse environment,eventually developing their own distinctive culture. Social organisation waslargely communal with families (whānau), subtribes (hapū) andtribes (iwi) ruled by a chief (rangatira), whose position was subject tothe community's approval.^[342] The British and Irishimmigrants brought aspects of their own culture to New Zealand and alsoinfluenced Māori culture,^[343][344] particularly with theintroduction of Christianity.^[345] However, Māori still regardtheir allegiance to tribal groups as a vital part of their identity, and Māori kinship rolesresemble those of other Polynesianpeoples.^[346] More recently, American, Australian, Asian and other European cultures have exerted influenceon New Zealand. Non-Māori Polynesian cultures are also apparent, with Pasifika, the world's largest Polynesianfestival, now an annual event in Auckland.^[347]

The largely rural life in early New Zealand led to theimage of New Zealanders being rugged, industrious problem solvers.^[348] Modesty was expected andenforced through the "tall poppy syndrome",where high achievers received harsh criticism.^[349] At the time, New Zealand wasnot known as an intellectual country.^[350] From the early 20th centuryuntil the late 1960s, Māori culture was suppressed by the attempted assimilation ofMāori into British New Zealanders.^[322] In the 1960s, as tertiaryeducation became more available, and cities expanded^[351] urban culture began todominate.^[352] However, rural imagery andthemes are common in New Zealand's art, literature and media.^[353]

NewZealand's national symbols are influenced by natural,historical, and Māori sources. The silver fern is an emblem appearing onarmy insignia and sporting team uniforms.^[354] Certain items of popularculture thought to be unique to New Zealand are called "Kiwiana".^[354]

Art

Main article: New Zealand art

As part of the resurgence of Māori culture, thetraditional crafts of carving and weaving are now more widely practised, andMāori artists are increasing in number and influence.^[355] Most Māori carvings featurehuman figures, generally with three fingers and either a natural-looking,detailed head or a grotesque head.^[356] Surface patterns consistingof spirals, ridges, notches and fish scales decorate most carvings.^[357] The pre-eminent Māoriarchitecture consisted of carved meeting houses (wharenui) decorated with symbolic carvingsand illustrations. These buildings were originally designed to be constantlyrebuilt, changing and adapting to different whims or needs.^[358]

Māori decorated the white wood of buildings, canoes andcenotaphs using red (a mixture of red ochre andshark fat) and black (made from soot) paint and painted pictures of birds,reptiles and other designs on cave walls.^[359] Māori tattoos (moko) consisting of coloured soot mixedwith gum were cut into the flesh with a bone chisel.^[360] Since European arrivalpaintings and photographs have been dominated by landscapes, originally not asworks of art but as factual portrayals of New Zealand.^[361] Portraits of Māori were alsocommon, with early painters often portraying them as an ideal race untainted bycivilisation.^[361] The country's isolationdelayed the influence of European artistic trends allowing local artists todevelop their own distinctive style of regionalism.^[362] During the 1960s and 1970s,many artists combined traditional Māori and Western techniques, creating uniqueart forms.^[363] New Zealand art and craft hasgradually achieved an international audience, with exhibitions in the Venice Biennale in 2001 and the"Paradise Now" exhibition in New York in 2004.^[355][364]

Māori cloaks are made of fine flax fibre and patternedwith black, red and white triangles, diamonds and other geometric shapes.^[365] Greenstone was fashioned into earringsand necklaces, with the most well-known design being the hei-tiki, a distorted human figure sittingcross-legged with its head tilted to the side.^[366] Europeans brought Englishfashion etiquette to New Zealand, and until the 1950s most people dressed upfor social occasions.^[367] Standards have since relaxedand New Zealand fashion has received a reputation for being casual, practicaland lacklustre.^[368][369] However, the local fashionindustry has grown significantly since 2000, doubling exports and increasingfrom a handful to about 50 established labels, with some labels gaininginternational recognition.^[369]

Literature

Main article: New Zealandliterature

Māori quickly adopted writing as a means of sharingideas, and many of their oral stories and poems were converted to the writtenform.^[370] Most early English literaturewas obtained from Britain, and it was not until the 1950s when local publishingoutlets increased that New Zealand literature started to become widely known.^[371] Although still largelyinfluenced by global trends (modernism)and events (the Great Depression), writers in the 1930s began to developstories increasingly focused on their experiences in New Zealand. During thisperiod, literature changed from a journalistic activity to a more academicpursuit.^[372] Participation in the worldwars gave some New Zealand writers a new perspective on New Zealand culture andwith the post-war expansion of universities local literature flourished.^[373] Dunedin is a UNESCO City of Literature.^[374]

Media and entertainment

Main articles: Music of New Zealand, Cinema of New Zealand,and Media of New Zealand

New Zealand music has been influenced by blues, jazz, country, rock and roll and hip hop, with many of these genres given aunique New Zealand interpretation.^[375] Māori developed traditionalchants and songs from their ancient Southeast Asian origins, and aftercenturies of isolation created a unique "monotonous" and "doleful" sound.^[376] Flutes and trumpets were usedas musical instruments^[377] or as signalling devicesduring war or special occasions.^[378] Early settlers brought overtheir ethnic music, with brass bands and choralmusic being popular, and musicians began touring New Zealand inthe 1860s.^[379][380] Pipe bands became widespread during theearly 20th century.^[381] The New Zealand recordingindustry began to develop from 1940 onwards, and many New Zealand musicianshave obtained success in Britain and the United States.^[375] Some artists release Māorilanguage songs, and the Māori tradition-based art of kapa haka (song and dance) has made aresurgence.^[382] The New Zealand MusicAwards are held annually by Recorded Music NZ; the awards were first heldin 1965 by Reckitt & Colman asthe Loxene Golden Disc awards.^[383] Recorded Music NZ alsopublishes the country's officialweekly record charts.^[384]

Public radio wasintroduced in New Zealand in 1922.^[386] A state-owned televisionservice began in 1960.^[387] Deregulation in the 1980s sawa sudden increase in the numbers of radio and television stations.^[388] New Zealand televisionprimarily broadcasts American and British programming, along with manyAustralian and local shows.^[389] The number of New Zealand films significantlyincreased during the 1970s. In 1978 the New ZealandFilm Commission started assisting local film-makers, and manyfilms attained a world audience, some receiving international acknowledgement.^[388] The highest-grossing NewZealand films are Hunt for theWilderpeople, Boy, The World'sFastest Indian, Whale Rider, Once WereWarriors and The Piano.^[390] The country's diverse sceneryand compact size, plus government incentives,^[391] have encouraged some producers to shoot very big-budget andwell known productions in New Zealand, including TheLord of the Rings and The Hobbit filmtrilogies, Avatar, TheChronicles of Narnia, King Kong, Wolverine and The Last Samurai.^[392] The New Zealand mediaindustry is dominated by a small number of companies, most of which areforeign-owned, although the state retains ownership of sometelevision and radio stations.^[393] Since 1994, Freedom House has consistently ranked NewZealand's press freedom in the top twenty, with the 19th freest media as of2015.^[394]

Sport

Most of the major sporting codes played in New Zealandhave British origins.^[395] Rugby union is considered the national sport^[396] and attracts the mostspectators.^[397] Golf, netball, tennis and cricket have the highest rates of adultparticipation, while netball, rugby union and football (soccer) areparticularly popular among young people.^[397][398] Horseracing is one of the most popular spectator sports in New Zealand and waspart of the "rugby, racing, and beer" subculture during the 1960s.^[399] Around 54% of New Zealandadolescents participate in sports for their school.^[398] Victorious rugby tours toAustralia and the United Kingdom in the late1880s and the early 1900s playedan early role in instilling a national identity.^[400] Māori participation inEuropean sports was particularly evident in rugby, and the country's teamperforms a haka, atraditional Māori challenge, before international matches.^[401] New Zealand is known forits extreme sports, adventure tourism^[402] and strong mountaineering tradition, as seen in thesuccess of notable New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary.^[403][404] Other outdoor pursuits suchas cycling,fishing, swimming, running, tramping,canoeing, hunting, snowsports, surfing and sailing are also popular.^[405] New Zealand has seen regularsailing success in the America's Cup regatta since 1995.^[406] The Polynesian sport of waka ama racing has experienced aresurgence of interest in New Zealand since the 1980s.^[407]

New Zealand has competitive international teams in rugbyunion, rugbyleague, netball, cricket, softball,and sailing. NewZealand participated at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1912 as a joint teamwith Australia, before first participating on its own in1920.^[408] The country has ranked highlyon a medals-to-population ratio at recent Games.^[409][410] The "All Blacks",the national rugby union team, are the most successful in the history ofinternational rugby^[411] and have won the World Cup three times.^[412]

Cuisine

The national cuisine has been described as Pacific Rim, incorporating the native Māori cuisine and diverse culinarytraditions introduced by settlers and immigrants from Europe, Polynesia, andAsia.^[413] New Zealand yields producefrom land and sea—most crops and livestock, such as maize, potatoes and pigs,were gradually introduced by the early European settlers.^[414] Distinctive ingredients ordishes include lamb,salmon, kōura (crayfish),^[415] Bluff oysters, whitebait, pāua (abalone), mussels,scallops, pipi and tuatua (types of New Zealandshellfish),^[416] kūmara (sweet potato), kiwifruit, tamarillo, and pavlova (considered a national dessert).^[417][413] A hāngī is a traditional Māori method ofcooking food using heated rocks buried in a pit oven; still used for largegroups on special occasions,^[418] such as tangihanga.^[419]