New Zealand

Angelique Quintana-Yates
March 2, 2016

The beautiful country New Zealand is located on the continent of Oceania and is located
southeast of Australia. New Zealand became a country in 1902 and has been independent since
1926. New Zealand has a temperate climate of 70 to 90F in summer and in winter temperatures
drop down to 50 to 60F. New Zealand has a history of a unique mix of people, known as Mori
and European people. The culture has a population of 4.5 million and Mori are known as the
indigenous people of New Zealand. They were the first to arrive and settle in Aotearoa about
1,000 years ago. New Zealand has an unwritten constitution and is based on a constitutional
monarchy. The Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand, she is represented in the
nation by Governor-General Jerry Mateparae.

The economy of New Zealand runs on free market principles. Its Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) is 200.0 billion (USD) is ranked 53rd on a GDP scale and the Gross National
Product (GNP) is 56995 Nzd Million, which means 1 USD = 1.50286 NZD. New Zealand's GDP
compared to the United States is lower. New Zealand has a percentage of 0.90% GDP and the US
has a percentage of 2.39%.. In comparison America has a larger over all Gross Domestic Product
than New Zealand. On the other hand concerning the Gini Coefficient in rankings New Zealand
comes in at number 83. It has a distribution of family income of 36.2.
One of New Zealand's neighboring regions is Australia. Australia and New Zealand are
somewhat different demographically. In Australia immigrants mostly came from European
countries and have a growing population of 21.5 million. In New Zealand its indigenous people
came from the Pacific Islands that has a population of 4.25 million. Australia's Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) per capita is $41,300 (2010) and has a world rank number of 17. On the other
hand New Zealand's GDP per capita is $28,000 (2010) and has a world rank number of 51.
Taking a closer look at New Zealand's people and their land; Its labor force is ranked
116th in the world of 2.45 Million (2014). New Zealand is rich in clean water; clean air; soil and
a climate well-suited to humans, trees, and animals native to the area. This country has a higher
economic growth and a lower-emissions future. The oil and gas industry are directly contributed
to 1.5% of New Zealand's GDP. Its most available natural resources include natural gas, iron,
coal, ore, timber, gold, limestone, and hydro power. New Zealand is the 60th largest export
economy in the world, it produces $40.1 billion dollars. Its is also an importer with $38.6 billion
and depends greatly on international trade,The top exports of New Zealand are concentrated milk
($7.19B), sheep and goat meat ($2.32B), rough wood ($1.89B), butter ($1.79B) and frozen

bovine meat ($1.55B). The top three countries New Zealand export to is China, Australia, and
The United States of America.
The birth rate is 13.33/ 1,000 population. This rate is ranked 151 in the world which is
below the replacement rate. New Zealand's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.913. So what
does this mean for this country? Without immigration the population would decrease rapidly and
the economic opportunities would fall apart. The immigrants in New Zealand usually gain more
people for long-term arrivals than it loses from long-term departures. In the year of 2012 New
Zealand lost an estimated -3,800 immigrants than rose back up to +59,600 in the year 2015.
There are some problems facing New Zealand. The biggest issue is up rising economic
issues, which includes government, public policy, human rights issues, and environmental issues.
However, the biggest issue they are facing today is poverty due to debt. The gap between the rich
and the poor is large and New Zealanders are facing a financial hardship. The hardship is causing
household debt, due to the high dollar (currency going up) and unemployment. There is no
official poverty line in New Zealand as there is in other countries such as the USA. Also there
is no formal agreement about exactly how to measure poverty in New Zealand.
The main people group that struggle with poverty are Mori, Pacific peoples and Pakeha.
There is little help to resources they can use, but overall there is no help available to the people,
even getting a job does not solve the poverty problems. The economic growth will still not solve
poverty. In fact the cost of living is 3.82% higher than in United States. However, New Zealand's
unemployment rate is decreasing and has fallen to 5.3 percent in the past 3 months of December
in the year of 2015 from 6.0 percent. Treasury produces economic forecasts in its economic and
fiscal updates to insure progress. In my opinion I think New Zealand should be aiming for

economic growth for its country and people while maintaining a watchful eye on its poverty but
it's easier said than done.

Work Cited
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