New Zealand
From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.
New Zealand is a country in the south-western Pacific Ocean. It is made up of two large islands (the North Island and South Island) and many much smaller islands.
Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand.
The official languages are English, Māori and sign language.
About 4 million people live in New Zealand. Most of them have European ancestors. The indigenous people of New Zealand, the Māori, have a population of about 600,000.
[edit] Government and Politics
New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II. The Prime Minister is Helen Clark, of the New Zealand Labour Party.
New Zealand has made itself a Nuclear Free Zone: They do not use nuclear power and do not allow nuclear weapons in their territory.
[edit] Nature
New Zealand was isolated from the rest of the world for a long time. Because of this there are many plants and animals that only live in New Zealand. Before humans came to New Zealand, there were no mammals except two bat species. Instead New Zealand has many different kinds of bird, for example the kiwi.
[edit] Other things
- New Zealand has become more popular over the past five years because Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movies were all filmed there.
- New Zealand is home to lots of sheep. There are many more sheep than people in New Zealand.
- Most New Zealanders, sometimes called "kiwis", are very interested in sports. Their national game is rugby. They have impressive athletes in rowing, cycling, shotput, discus, iron man, triathalon, yachting, climbing, surfing, cricket, netball, softball, wind surfing, gliding, and more.
- They are in love with their great outdoors. They have a "clean, green" image as a country.
Countries and territories of Oceania | |
Australia : Australia · Coral Sea Islands · Norfolk Island | |
Melanesia : East Timor · Fiji · Maluku Islands & Western New Guinea (part of Indonesia) · New Caledonia · Papua New Guinea · Solomon Islands · Vanuatu | |
Micronesia : Guam · Kiribati · Marshall Islands · Northern Mariana Islands · Federated States of Micronesia · Nauru · Palau | |
Polynesia : American Samoa · Cook Islands · French Polynesia · Hawaii · New Zealand · Niue · Pitcairn · Samoa · Tokelau · Tonga · Tuvalu · Wallis and Futuna |
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