Some Interesting Facts About New Zealand

Student’s Project

Ira would like to share with you some interesting facts about New Zealand, an amazing English-speaking country.

The Maori name of New Zealand is Aotearoa which means the land of the long white cloud.

New Zealand was once governed as part of the territory of New South Wales and later a part of Australia.

It is one of the three countries in the world that has two official national anthems of equal standing. The first is God Save the Queen and the other is God Defend New Zealand.

New Zealanders are also called Kiwis but kiwi is not a fruit. It is New Zealand’s native flightless bird.

It was the first major nation to have universal suffrage. Since 1893 all male and female citizens have legally been allowed to vote.

Queen Elizabeth II is officially Queen of New Zealand, represented in the country by a Governor General.

To become a New Zealand citizen, you must swear an oath of loyalty to Queen Elizabeth.

The official languages are English, Te Reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language.

New Zealand is one of the world’s least populated countries with just over 4.8 million people here.

The largest city in New Zealand is Auckland although its capital city is Wellington.

The country is part of the Pacific Rim of Fire and its most active volcano is Mount Ruapehu, found in the middle of the North Island.

When in New Zealand, you must drive on the left side of the road.

Auckland’s Sky Tower is the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere at 328 meters high.

New Zealanders love cars with 3.4 million cars registered in 2018 for 4.8 million people – making them one of the countries to have the highest car ownership rate in the world.

Popular films that were made in New Zealand include ‘Once Were Warriors’, ‘The Whale Rider’, ‘The Piano’ and the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.

This was the first country to have its three top positions of power held simultaneously by women; Prime Minister Helen Clark, Governor General Dame Silvia Cartwright and the Chief Justice Sian Elias.

There are no snakes in the country!

30% of the country is forest.

Gisborne is the first city in the world to see the sunrise because it is 496.3 kilometres away from the International Date Line.