๐ Countries of the world ๐๏ธ Oceania
New Zealand
๐ In short
New Zealand is an island country in the southwest Pacific Ocean, about 1600 kilometers from Australia. It's made up of two big islands and many small ones. Its capital is Wellington, and it has snowy mountains, volcanoes, forests and wonderful beaches.
๐คฉ Did you know?
- New Zealand's coastline, including its bays, is about 6900 kilometers long.
- The Waikato is New Zealand's longest river, about 425 kilometers long.
- Waterfalls and dams provide most of New Zealand's electricity.
- The two official languages are English and Mฤori, and the currency is the New Zealand dollar.
๐๏ธ Fact file
- Capital
- Wellington
- Official language
- English and Mฤori
- Official name
- New Zealand
- Currency
- The New Zealand dollar
- Area
- Total area: 270,534 kmยฒ
- Population
- 3,759,000 people according to 2000 estimates
๐ Find out more
๐ Birds with no enemies
For millions of years New Zealand had no predatory mammals, so birds that can't fly appeared there, like the kiwi, which became the country's symbol.
๐ The Mฤori people
The Mฤori are New Zealand's first people, who came across the ocean by boat hundreds of years ago. They have a famous dance called the โhakaโ, which players perform before matches.
๐ก Land of volcanoes and springs
The North Island has active volcanoes, hot springs and bubbling mud pools, and the South Island has the Southern Alps, glaciers and fjords.
๐ฏ Sheep and kiwis
New Zealand has far more sheep than people! It also grows the green kiwifruit, named after the bird.
๐งฉ Test yourself
1 Which bird is New Zealand's symbol?
2 Who are New Zealand's first people?
3 New Zealand's coastline, including its bays, is about ?? kilometers long.
4 Which picture shows โNew Zealandโ?
๐ Discover more
๐ท Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons
- Heidi Meudt ยท CC BY 4.0
