New Zealand

The main languages spoken in New Zealand are:
English - the de facto official language, spoken by ~95.4% of the population.
Maori - a de jure official language, spoken by ~4%, with strong government support for revitalization; approximately 15-17% of the population identifies as Maori.
New Zealand Sign Language - also a de jure official language.
Samoan (~2.2%), Northern Chinese (~2%), and Hindi (~1.5%) are also spoken, reflecting New Zealand's Pacific Islander and Asian immigrant communities.
English, Maori, and New Zealand Sign Language are all official languages of New Zealand.

Geography

Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia; consists of the North Island, South Island, and over 700 smaller islands

Map references: Oceania

Area:
total: 268,838 sq km

Geography - note: over three-quarters of New Zealanders, including the Maori, live on the North Island, primarily in urban areas

People

Population: 5.16-5.32 million (2024-2025 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 19.6%
15-64 years: 65.5%
65 years and over: 14.9%

Life expectancy at birth:
male: 80.3 years
female: 83.7 years

Nationality:
noun/adjective: New Zealander(s)

Ethnic groups: European 64.1%, Maori 16.5%, Chinese 4.9%, Indian 4.7%, Samoan 3.9%, Tongan 1.8%, Cook Islands Maori 1.7%, other 13.7% (2018 est.; multiple responses possible)

Religions: Christian 37.3% (Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Methodist, and others), Hindu 2.7%, Maori 1.3%, Muslim 1.3%, Buddhist 1.1%, no religion 48.6% (2018 est.)

Languages: English (de facto official) 95.4%, Maori (de jure official) 4%, Samoan 2.2%, Northern Chinese 2%, Hindi 1.5%, French 1.2%, New Zealand Sign Language (de jure official) 0.5%, other 17.2% (2018 est.)

Government

Country name:
conventional short form: New Zealand; local Maori name Aotearoa, legend holds is the name of the canoe used by Kupe, the first Polynesian to reach the country

Data code: NZ

Government type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

National capital: Wellington

Background: Polynesians settled New Zealand between the late 1200s and mid-1300s; competition for land and resources by the 1500s led to intermittent inter-tribal fighting; British sovereignty was established via the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi with Maori chiefs; became an independent dominion in 1907, and full independence was confirmed in 1947

Economy

Economy - overview: advanced, high-income, highly developed free-market economy; over the past 40 years transformed from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access into a more industrialized, globally competitive economy; strong agriculture, tourism, and services sectors

GDP (purchasing power parity): $298.93 billion (2025 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 1.4% (2025); 2.7% (2026f)

GDP - per capita: $55,450 PPP (2025 est.)

Inflation rate: 2.2% (Q3 2024)

Population below poverty line: 11.0% (relative, 2014)

Currency: New Zealand dollar (NZD)

Military

Military branches: New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF): New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force (2025)

Military manpower: approximately 8,800 active Regular Force personnel (4,300 Army, 2,100 Navy, 2,400 Air Force) (2025)