New Zealand - Geography, Climate, Economy

It covers an area of 268 675 sq km and the population is 3 407 277 inhabitants. The capital city is Wellington (326 900) and the main ethnic groups are: Europeans (mostly British 87 %), Maoris (12 %), and other Polynesians.

Geography
New Zealand (Aotearoa in the Maori language) is located in south-west Pacific Ocean, south-east of Australia and consist of two large islands - North Island and South Island - and many small islands (e.g. Stewart Island). They are separated by Cook Strait which is 150 km wide. New Zealand is larger than Great Britain, but the density of population is quite low. This country is rolling, hilly and mountainous, there is very little flatland 1 and lowland areas only around the coast. Almost 80 per cent of the population live on the North Island. All the larger cities - Auckland (910 200), Christchurch, Hamilton and Manukau lie here. There are many hot springs and geysers and also a lot of volcanic activity.