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New Zealand lies in the South Pacific, nearly 2.000 kms from Australia, to the east, and 19.017 kms, or 11.790 miles from Paris, France.
The capital city of New Zealand is Wellington, although Auckland is the largest city, with a population having just reached one million. The total population of the country is 3.8 million.
The Maori make up about 15%, and are the indigenous people of New Zealand. Most Maori live in the North Island areas of Northland, Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Waikato.
New Zealand is similar in size to Japan or Great Britain.
Its climate is temperate to subtropical. The languages are mainly English and Maori.
The government is of parliamentary type. New Zealand has a written constitution. Queen Elizabeth II is the chief of state. She is represented by a governor general. The head of government is the prime minister. The third part of the executive consists of the cabinet. The legislative is made up of the House of Representatives (called "parliament"). The third branch is the judicial branch (the courts).
All New Zealanders are allowed to vote at the age of 18. Most of the 3.8 million New Zealanders are of British origin. Nearly 75% of the people, including a large majority of Maori, live on the North Island. In addition, 167,000 Pacific Islanders also live in New Zealand. New Zealanders colloquially refer to themselves as "Kiwis" - the country's native bird.
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