Location: New Zealand / Australia
Facts About New Zealand
General Profile
Area 103,736 sq mi = 269,000 sq km
Population 1988 3,343,000
Population Growth 0.88 %
Population Density 32 /sq mi
GNP 1988 (millions) $25,856
GNP per Capita $7,734
Capital City Wellington
Banks
8:30am to 4:30pm - can vary slightly
Business Hours
Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Late night for shopping is either Thursday or Friday. Most shops open Saturday morning, with some shops and markets remaining open all week-end, in certain resorts and city centres.
Climate
Southern termperate zone. Neither excessively hot nor cold. Raincoat essential. Warm clothing suitable most of year. Seasons reversed from N. Hemisphere.
Currency
Decimal system based on New Zealand dollar, with cent denominations.
Coins are 5 cent 10 cent 20 cent 50 cent
1 dollar 2 dollar
Notes are 5 dollar 10 dollar 20 dollar 50 dollar
100 dollar
All major credit cards are accepted widely.
New Zealand operates a Goods and Services Tax of 12.5% on ALL goods and services sold.
Electricity
230 volts AC, 50 hertz. 3 pin appliance plug phase --------> / \ <---- neutral
(or live)
| <--------- earth
Most hotels will have shaver plugs suitable for all international appliance of low power rating, and which will supply 110 and 230 volts.
Telephone
Similar to British Telecom sytle. Uses BT 600 plug (not RJ-11) Phone line is pins 2 and 5 of the BT 600 plug (RJ-11 is pins 3 &4). Hotels will have difficulty in converting plugs styles.Most NZ telephone systems can handle DTMF tone dialling.
BEWARE: NZ pulse dilaing is the reverse of most countries.
The digit are reversed and so produce different numbers of pulses. The conversion is:
digit | # of Pulses
----------+---------------
0 | 10
1 | 9
2 | 8
3 | 7
4 | 6
5 | 5
6 | 4
7 | 3
8 | 2
9 | 1
Travel Details
- Customs generally more formal than in neighboring Australia.
- Visa: Not required of US citizens in possession of a return or onward ticket staying up to 90 days. Passports must be valid 3 months beyond date of departure.
- Health: Facilities good. No special precautions necessary.
NB: Agriculture Checks
Demographics
Population 1975 3,071,000 Population 1988 3,343,000 Population 1989 3,372,000 Population 1990 3,402,000 Population 2000 3,714,000 Population Growth 0.88 % Population Density 32 /sq mi Pop'n Doubling Time 79 years
Age Distribution:
Age range Male % Female %
0-9 8.0 7.6
10-19 9.4 9.0
20-29 8.6 8.4
30-39 7.4 7.5
40-49 5.4 5.3
50-59 4.5 4.4
60-69 3.6 4.1
70+ 2.7 4.1
Total 49.6 50.4
Literacy Rate 99 %
Urbanization 83.5 %
Major Cities
Population Longitude Code -------------------------------------------------------------------- Wellington 360,000 41.17S,174.47E 4 Auckland 890,000 36.52S,174.46E 9 Christchurch 335,000 43.33S,172.40E 3 Hamilton 170,000 37.46S,175.18E 7 Dunedin 115,000 45.52S,170.30E 3
Telephone Country Code 64 Telex Access Code 791 Ham Radio Prefix ZL X.25 Country Code 05301
Health Statistics
Life Expectancy (M) 71.0 years Life Expectancy (F) 77.0 years Crude Birth Rate 16.3 /1000 Crude Death Rate 8.3 /1000 Infant Mortality 10.8 /1000 No. of Hospitals 318 No. of Hospital Beds 23,052 No. of Physicians 5,210 No. of Dentists 1,160 No. of Pharmacists 2,300 Nursing Personnel 22,000
Government
Type of Government: ParliamentaryElected on a 3 year term, with around 96 electorates. Each electorate has one seat in the House of Representatives called Parliament. Generally, the party with the most seats will form the Government.
Government Leaders GOVERNOR GENERAL Dame Cath Tizard
PRIME MINISTER Helen Clarke
Major Parties National
Labour
Green Party
Cultural
Languages English
Maori
Ethnic Groups European 88 %
Maori 9 %
Pacific Islander 2 %
Other 1 %
Religions Christian 81 %
Unaffil. & Other 19 %
Main Sights and Places of Interest
- Sights: Auckland, the Bay of Islands, Rotorua thermal area, Fjordland Nat'l Park, Mt. Cook, Wellington.
Economic Details
GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT (GNP) 1989 (millions) $26,141 Annual GNP Growth 1.1 % GNP per Capita $7,734 GNP for Agriculture 8 % GNP for Industry 31 % GNP for Services 61 % GNP for Defense 2.2 % Balance of Trade -$1,299,000,000 (1986)
Major Imports Major Exports Oil Beef Vehicles Wool Machinery Dairy Products Electrical Equipment Manufactured Goods Iron & Steel Transport Equipment Wood Products
Natural Resources Agriculture Natural Gas Wool Iron Ore Meat Sands Dairy Products Coal Timber Hydroelectric Power Major Industries Gold Food Processing Limestone Textiles Machinery Transport Equipment Fish Processing Wood Products Banking Insurance Tourism Mining
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