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New Zealand

Australia and New Zealand

Position of New Zealand on a world map

At a glance

CapitalWellington
Most common first languageEnglish95.4% speak it as a mother tongue
Official languagesMaori, New Zealand Sign Language
CurrencyNew Zealand dollar
Drives on theleft
Highest pointAoraki / Mount Cook3,724 m
Biggest category of goods exportedfood67% of goods exports, 2024
Services share of exports29.2%of everything sold abroad, 2025
TerritoryEntirely islandsno part on a continental mainland · archipelago
Internet domain.nz

Facts about New Zealand

New Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the vote.

Source: 1893 Electoral Act; NZ History (Manatū Taonga) · checked 2026-08-08

New Zealand introduced the world's first minimum wage.

Source: ilo.org · checked 2026-08-08

New Zealand’s central bank was the first in the world to adopt formal inflation targeting.

Source: rbnz.govt.nz · checked 2026-08-08

New Zealand by the numbers

Rank is out of the countries with data for that measure. Every figure is the latest year the source publishes.

MeasureValueRank
PopulationEveryone living in the country, all ages, counted mid-year.5.32m (2025)124th
of 209
GDPThe total value of everything the country produces in a year, at current prices.$264bn (2025)53rd
of 203
Land areaTotal land area, excluding inland water and offshore territory.263k km² (2023)75th
of 209
Military spending, totalWhat the government spends on its armed forces in a year — pay, equipment and operations.$3.00bn (2024)53rd
of 151
Exports of goods & servicesThe value of everything the country sells abroad in a year, goods and services combined.$64.6bn (2024)59th
of 180
Mobile subscriptionsActive mobile phone subscriptions — NOT the same as people. Many people hold two, so a country can have more subscriptions than residents.6.78m (2024)114th
of 205
Forest areaLand under natural or planted trees, whether or not it is productive.99.5k km² (2023)53rd
of 203
Agricultural landCropland, land under permanent crops, and permanent pasture.97.1k km² (2023)72nd
of 206
COâ‚‚ emissionsCarbon dioxide released in a year, in millions of tonnes.32 Mt (2024)70th
of 198
Urban populationThe number of people living in urban areas, as each country defines them.4.47m (2025)105th
of 209
Life expectancyHow long a baby born today would live if death rates never changed.82.0 years (2024)35th
of 209
GDP per personEverything the country produces in a year, divided by its population.$49,591 (2025)32nd
of 205
Internet useThe share of people who have used the internet in the last three months.93.5% (2024)37th
of 191
InflationHow much prices rose over the year, measured on a basket of consumer goods.2.8% (2025)97th
of 182
UnemploymentThe share of people who want a job and are looking for one but do not have one.5.1% (2025)95th
of 185
Urban shareThe share of the population living in urban areas.84.0% (2025)43rd
of 209
Births per womanHow many children a woman would have across her life at current birth rates.1.57 (2024)136th
of 209
Military spending, share of GDPWhat the country spends on its armed forces, as a share of everything it produces.1.19% of GDP (2024)103rd
of 155
Trade opennessImports plus exports as a share of GDP. Above 100% is normal for small trading economies.50.7% of GDP (2024)142nd
of 183
COâ‚‚ per personCarbon dioxide from fuel and industry, divided by the population.5.97 t (2024)41st
of 198
Human Development IndexThe UN’s combined measure of health, education and income, on a scale from 0 to 1.0.938 (2023)18th
of 193

Land borders

None. Everything that leaves New Zealand goes by sea or by air.

Across the water

Close by sea, with no shared land border.

🇦🇺 Australia

New Zealand shares these with other countries

Drives on the left 60Is made up entirely of islands 58Shares no land border 51Is an archipelago 39Has english as its most common first language 13Is a constitutional monarchy 40Is a member of the commonwealth 55Mainly exports food 47Is in australia and new zealand 2

New Zealand in the Daily Ceteris

Questions from the daily puzzle where the answer is New Zealand.

Which country introduced the world's first minimum wage?

New Zealand legislated a minimum wage in 1894, two years before the Australian state of Victoria and fifteen years before Britain. It came out of a system of compulsory arbitration built to stop strikes by settling pay disputes in court instead. source

Which single country is the world's largest dairy exporter?

A country of five million people ships about 1.5 million tonnes of whole milk powder a year — roughly nine times the European Union's — and more butter than anyone else. Only the EU as a bloc sells more dairy overall, which is why the question says single country. Comparative advantage in grass-fed milk can outweigh sheer economic size. source

Which country's central bank was the first in the world to adopt formal inflation targeting?

From 1990 the Reserve Bank of New Zealand was legally bound to hit an explicit inflation target, a transparency experiment later copied by dozens of central banks, including the Bank of England and the ECB. It turned monetary policy from secretive discretion into a rule-bound, accountable contract with the public. source

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Country data from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO)
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