:New Caledonia Defense Forces
Branches:
Gendarmerie, Police Force
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 46,388; NA fit for military service
Note:
defense is the responsibility of France
:New Zealand Geography
Total area:
268,680 km2
Land area:
268,670 km2; includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands,
Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands
Comparative area:
about the size of Colorado
Land boundaries:
none
Coastline:
15,134 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf:
edge of continental margin or 200 nm
Exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency)
Climate:
temperate with sharp regional contrasts
Terrain:
predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains
Natural resources:
natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone
Land use:
arable land 2%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 53%; forest and
woodland 38%; other 7%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment:
earthquakes are common, though usually not severe
:New Zealand People
Population:
3,347,369 (July 1992), growth rate 0.7% (1992)
Birth rate:
16 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
8 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
-2 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
9 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
72 years male, 80 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
2.1 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - New Zealander(s); adjective - New Zealand
Ethnic divisions:
European 88%, Maori 8.9%, Pacific Islander 2.9%, other 0.2%
Religions:
Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%, Methodist 5%, Baptist
2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none 9% (1986)
Languages:
English (official), Maori
Literacy:
99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1970)
Labor force:
1,603,500 (June 1991); services 67.4%, manufacturing 19.8%, primary
production 9.3% (1987)
Organized labor:
681,000 members; 43% of labor force (1986)
:New Zealand Government
Long-form name:
none; abbreviated NZ
Type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
Wellington
Administrative divisions:
93 counties, 9 districts*, and 3 town districts**; Akaroa, Amuri, Ashburton,
Bay of Islands, Bruce, Buller, Chatham Islands, Cheviot, Clifton, Clutha,
Cook, Dannevirke, Egmont, Eketahuna, Ellesmere, Eltham, Eyre, Featherston,
Franklin, Golden Bay, Great Barrier Island, Grey, Hauraki Plains, Hawera*,
Hawke's Bay, Heathcote, Hikurangi**, Hobson, Hokianga, Horowhenua, Hurunui,
Hutt, Inangahua, Inglewood, Kaikoura, Kairanga, Kiwitea, Lake, Mackenzie,
Malvern, Manaia**, Manawatu, Mangonui, Maniototo, Marlborough, Masterton,
Matamata, Mount Herbert, Ohinemuri, Opotiki, Oroua, Otamatea, Otorohanga*,
Oxford, Pahiatua, Paparua, Patea, Piako, Pohangina, Raglan, Rangiora*,
Rangitikei, Rodney, Rotorua*, Runanga, Saint Kilda, Silverpeaks, Southland,
Stewart Island, Stratford, Strathallan, Taranaki, Taumarunui, Taupo,
Tauranga, Thames-Coromandel*, Tuapeka, Vincent, Waiapu, Waiheke, Waihemo,
Waikato, Waikohu, Waimairi, Waimarino, Waimate, Waimate West, Waimea, Waipa,
Waipawa*, Waipukurau*, Wairarapa South, Wairewa, Wairoa, Waitaki, Waitomo*,
Waitotara, Wallace, Wanganui, Waverley**, Westland, Whakatane*, Whangarei,
Whangaroa, Woodville
Independence:
26 September 1907 (from UK)
Constitution:
no formal, written constitution; consists of various documents, including
certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments; Constitution Act 1986
was to have come into force 1 January 1987, but has not been enacted
Dependent areas:
Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau
Legal system:
based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for
Maoris; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday:
Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty), 6
February (1840)
Executive branch:
British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
Cabinet
Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Representatives (commonly called Parliament)
Judicial branch:
High Court, Court of Appeal
Leaders:
Chief of State:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General
Dame Catherine TIZARD (since 12 December 1990)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister James BOLGER (since 29 October 1990); Deputy Prime Minister
Donald McKINNON (since 2 November 1990)
Political parties and leaders:
National Party (NP; government), James BOLGER; New Zealand Labor Party
(NZLP; opposition), Michael MOORE; NewLabor Party (NLP), Jim ANDERTON;
Democratic Party, Dick RYAN; New Zealand Liberal Party, Hanmish MACINTYRE
and Gilbert MYLES; Green Party, no official leader; Mana Motuhake, Martin
RATA; Socialist Unity Party (SUP; pro-Soviet), Kenneth DOUGLAS; note - the
New Labor, Democratic, and Mana Motuhake parties formed a coalition in
September 1991; the Green Party joined the coalition in May 1992
:New Zealand Government
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
House of Representatives:
last held on 27 October 1990 (next to be held October 1993); results - NP
49%, NZLP 35%, Green Party 7%, NLP 5%; seats - (97 total) NP 67, NZLP 29,
NLP 1
Member of:
ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC,
AsDB, Australia Group, C, CCC, CP, COCOM, (cooperating country), EBRD,
ESCAP, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS,
MTCR, OECD, PCA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador - Denis Bazely Gordon McLEAN; Chancery at 37 Observatory Circle
NW, Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 328-4800; there are New Zealand
Consulates General in Los Angeles and New York
US:
Ambassador Della M. NEWMAN; Embassy at 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon,
Wellington (mailing address is P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1,
FPO AP 96531-1001); telephone [64] (4) 722-068; FAX [64] (4) 723-537; there
is a US Consulate General in Auckland
Flag:
blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red
five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer half of the flag;
the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation