About New Zealand - The Land and its People

New Zealand Geography and Demographics

Total Area: 270,534 square kilometers (104,453 square miles)
Capital: Wellington
Population: 4,100,000

Ethnic Composition: 73 percent European; 12 percent Native Maori; 4 percent Polynesian; 11 percent other, including Chinese, Korean and other Asian peoples.

Official Language: English

Religion: 22 percent Anglican; 21 percent none; 16 percent Presbyterian; 15 percent Roman Catholic; 26 percent other

More about New Zealand

New Zealand has a distinct culture and heritage. Lifestyles are generally more relaxed and informal than in most other developed countries and New Zealanders are self-reliant and practical, open and hospitable. They tend to have little patience for ostentatious or loud behavior. They also value their families and their leisure time.

New Zealand offers some of the most beautiful and varied Landscapes on earth. You can experience the sights of high snowcapped peaks, glaciers, steep fjords, ancient beech forests, a wild coastline with unusual wildlife; long, deserted sandy beaches, alpine meadowlands, wide open sheep country, bubbling hot springs, green lush rainforests and a great deal more.

You can swim with dolphins, walk with newborn lambs, go whale watching or fish for fattened trout or a bounty of saltwater fish.

Because it's such a compact place, travel within New Zealand - whether by plane, bus, rail, car or campervan - is affordable and efficient. Accommodation too is cheap and varied. And the culinary promise of venison, fresh seafood, sublime ice cream and award-winning wines should more than whet the appetite.