Location: Southwestern Oceania, southeast of Australia in the South Pacific Ocean

Map references: Oceania, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 268,680 sq km
land area: 268,670 sq km
comparative area: about the size of Colorado
note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 15,134 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200 nm or the edge of continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency)

Climate: temperate with sharp regional contrasts

Terrain: predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains

Natural resources: natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone

Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 53%
forest and woodland: 38%
other: 7%

Irrigated land: 2,800 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside
natural hazards: earthquakes are common, though usually not severe
international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Note: about 80% of the population lives in cities

NOTE: The information regarding New Zealand on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of New Zealand Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about New Zealand Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.