New Zealand - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of New Zealand.

note 1: consists of two main islands and a number of smaller islands; South Island, the larger main island, is the 12th largest island in the world and is divided along its length by the Southern Alps; North Island is the 14th largest island in the world and is not as mountainous, but it is marked by volcanism

note 2: New Zealand lies along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire

note 3: almost 90% of the population lives in cities and over three-quarters on North Island; Wellington is the southernmost national capital in the world

. Mother's mean age at first birth is 27.8 years (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 7 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of New Zealand
Location Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia
Geographic coordinates 41 00 S, 174 00 E
Map references Oceania
Tarrain predominately mountainous with large coastal plains
Natural Resources natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone
Natural Hazards

earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity

volcanism: significant volcanism on North Island; Ruapehu (2,797 m), which last erupted in 2007, has a history of large eruptions in the past century; Taranaki has the potential to produce dangerous avalanches and lahars; other historically active volcanoes include Okataina, Raoul Island, Tongariro, and White Island; see note 2 under "Geography - note"
Irrigated Land 7,000 sq km (2014)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 0 km
Border Countries
Coastline 15,134 km
Climate temperate with sharp regional contrasts
Area
Total Area 268,838 sq km
Land Area 264,537 sq km
Water Area 4,301 sq km
comparative Area almost twice the size of North Carolina; about the size of Colorado
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Contiguous zone 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Continental shelf 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Elevations
Highest point Aoraki/Mount Cook 3,724 m; note - the mountain's height was 3,764 m until 14 December 1991 when it lost about 10 m in an avalanche of rock and ice; erosion of the ice cap since then has brought the height down another 30 m
Lowest point Pacific Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation 388 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 43.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 1.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 41.1% (2018 est.)
Forest 31.4% (2018 est.)
Other 25.4% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

Over three-quarters of New Zealanders, including the indigenous Maori, live on the North Island, primarily in urban areas

People and Society

In New Zealand, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: European 64.1%, Maori 16.5%, Chinese 4.9%, Indian 4.7%, Samoan 3.9%, Tongan 1.8%, Cook Islands Maori 1.7%, English 1.5%, Filipino 1.5%, New Zealander 1%, other 13.7% (2018 est.)

Population
Pop growth rate 0.95% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 12.6 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 6.9 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 10% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density 3.62 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
Hospital bed Density 2.6 beds/1,000 population (2019)
Total fertility rate 1.85 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 0.9 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 79.9% (2014/15)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 57.6% (2023 est.)
Literacy
Education expenditures 6% of GDP (2020 est.)
Net Migration rate 3.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality New Zealand | New Zealander(s)
Languages English (de facto official) 95.4%, Maori (de jure official) 4%, Samoan 2.2%, Northern Chinese 2%, Hindi 1.5%, French 1.2%, Yue 1.1%, New Zealand Sign Language (de jure official) 0.5%, other or not stated 17.2% (2018 est.)
Religions Christian 37.3% (Catholic 10.1%, Anglican 6.8%, Presbyterian and Congregational 5.2%, Pentecostal 1.8%, Methodist 1.6%, Church of Jesus Christ 1.2%, other 10.7%), Hindu 2.7%, Maori 1.3%, Muslim, 1.3%, Buddhist 1.1%, other religion 1.6% (includes Judaism, Spiritualism and New Age religions, Baha'i, Asian religions other than Buddhism), no religion 48.6%, objected to answering 6.7% (2018 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 19% (male 503,120/female 475,490)
15-64 years 64.2% (male 1,674,407/female 1,638,276)
65 years and over 16.9% (2024 est.) (male 407,080/female 462,838)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 53.4
Youth dependency ratio 29
Elderly dependency ratio 24.4
Potential support ratio 4.1 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 37.9 years (2024 est.)
Male 37.2 years
Female 38.6 years
Urbanization
Urban population 87% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 0.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 1.673 million Auckland, 422,000 WELLINGTON (capital) (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.88 male(s)/female
Total population 1 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 3.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 3.1 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 82.9 years (2024 est.)
Male 81.2 years
Female 84.8 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 100% of population
Improved: rural rural: 100% of population
Improved: total total: 100% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 0% of population
Unimproved: total total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 100% of population
Improved: rural rural: 100% of population
Improved: total total: 100% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 0% of population
Unimproved: total total: 0% of population (2020)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 9.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 3.41 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 2.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 1.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 1.26 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 13.7% (2020 est.)
Male 15% (2020 est.)
Female 12.3% (2020 est.)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about New Zealand

Want to know more about New Zealand? Check all different factbooks for New Zealand below.

New Zealand is found in Australia and New Zealand