New Zealand lies in the south west Pacific Ocean, nearly 2 000 kms from Australia, to the east, and 19 017 kms, or 11 790 miles from Paris, France. New Zealand is over 1.600 kilometres long, and its widest part is 450 kilometres. The total land area is around 270 550 square kilometres, with approximately 10 000 kilometres of coastline.
The capital city is Wellington, near the southern tip of the North Island, with a population of approximately 360 000. Auckland is the largest city with a population having just reached one million. Over 200 000 inhabitants of Auckland are from the Pacific islands, which makes Auckland the largest Polynesian city in the world.
The total population of New Zealand is 3.9 million, and is predicted to reach 4.6 million within the next 44 years. Māori make up about 15% of the population, and are the indigenous people of New Zealand.
New Zealand is an island nation. The three main islands which make up New Zealand are the North Island, the South Island, and Stewart Island, but a number of smaller offshore islands are also included :
- The Chatham Islands
- The Kermadec Islands
- Campbell Island
- The Antipodes Islands
- The Bounty Islands
- The Auckland Islands
Approximately 23% of the country is forested, as compared with 80% originally. Most of the remaining forested areas are protected. New Zealand is a very mountainous country. It lies on a fault line which forms part of the Pacific "Rim of Fire", although there have been only two major volcanic eruptions in the relatively recent past. The North Island is mainly made up of coastal plains and small mountain ranges. Mount Cook (or Aoraki, in Māori), in the South Island, is the highest mountain in New Zealand (3 754 metres). The largest lake is Lake Taupo, and the river with the greatest flow is the Clutha. The longest river in the North Island is the Waikato.
New Zealand has a maritime climate, affected by latitude and the proximity of the ocean. The country's mountain ranges, and in particular those of the South Island, create different climactic conditions between the North and the South Islands. New Zealand's weather is inclined to be very changeable. In general the country experiences high rainfall, particularly in Winter.
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