_#_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%; includes irrigated 1%
_#_Environment: earthquakes are common, though usually not severe
_*_People
_#_Population: 3,308,973 (July 1991), growth rate 0.4% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 3 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 10 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 79 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--New Zealander(s); adjective--New Zealand
_#_Ethnic divisions: European 88%, Maori 8.9%, Pacific Islander
2.9%, other 0.2%
_#_Religion: Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%,
Methodist 5%, Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none
9% (1986)
_#_Language: English (official), Maori
_#_Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1970)
_#_Labor force: 1,591,900; services 67.4%, manufacturing 19.8%,
primary production 9.3% (1987)
_#_Organized labor: 681,000 members; 43% of labor force (1986)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none; abbreviated NZ
_#_Type: parliamentary democracy
_#_Capital: Wellington
_#_Administrative divisions: 93 counties, 9 districts*, and
3 town districts**; Akaroa, Amuri, Ashburton, Bay of Islands, Bruce,
Buller, Chatham Islands, Cheviot, Clifton, Clutha, Cook, Dannevirke,
Egmont, Eketahuna, Ellesmere, Eltham, Eyre, Featherston, Franklin, Golden
Bay, Great Barrier Island, Grey, Hauraki Plains, Hawera*, Hawke's Bay,
Heathcote, Hikurangi**, Hobson, Hokianga, Horowhenua, Hurunui, Hutt,
Inangahua, Inglewood, Kaikoura, Kairanga, Kiwitea, Lake, Mackenzie,
Malvern, Manaia**, Manawatu, Mangonui, Maniototo, Marlborough, Masterton,
Matamata, Mount Herbert, Ohinemuri, Opotiki, Oroua, Otamatea,
Otorohanga*, Oxford, Pahiatua, Paparua, Patea, Piako, Pohangina, Raglan,
Rangiora*, Rangitikei, Rodney, Rotorua*, Runanga, Saint Kilda,
Silverpeaks, Southland, Stewart Island, Stratford, Strathallan, Taranaki,
Taumarunui, Taupo, Tauranga, Thames-Coromandel*, Tuapeka, Vincent,
Waiapu, Waiheke, Waihemo, Waikato, Waikohu, Waimairi, Waimarino, Waimate,
Waimate West, Waimea, Waipa, Waipawa*, Waipukurau*, Wairarapa South,
Wairewa, Wairoa, Waitaki, Waitomo*, Waitotara, Wallace, Wanganui,
Waverley**, Westland, Whakatane*, Whangarei, Whangaroa, Woodville
_#_Dependent areas: Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau
_#_Independence: 26 September 1907 (from UK)
_#_Constitution: no formal, written constitution; consists of various
documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments;
Constitution Act 1986 was to have come into force 1 January 1987, but has
not been enacted
_#_Legal system: based on English law, with special land legislation
and land courts for Maoris; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations
_#_National holiday: Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established
British sovereignty), 6 February (1840)
_#_Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives (commonly
called Parliament)
_#_Judicial branch: High Court, Court of Appeal
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II ( since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Dame Catherine TIZARD (since 12
December 1990);
Head of Government--Prime Minister James BOLGER (since
29 October 1990); Deputy Prime Minister Donald McKINNON (since 2
November 1990)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
National Party (NP; government), James BOLGER;
New Zealand Labor Party (NZLP; opposition), Michael MOORE;
New Labor Party (NLP), Jim ANDERTON;
Democratic Party, Neil MORRISON;
Green Party, no official leader;
Socialist Unity Party (SUP; pro-Soviet), Kenneth DOUGLAS
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
House of Representatives--last held on 27 October 1990 (next to be
held October 1993);
results--NP 49%, LP 35%, Green Party 7%, New Labor 5%;
seats--(97 total) NP 67, LP 29, NLP 1
_#_Communists: SUP about 140, other groups, about 200
_#_Member of: ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on
11 August 1986), APEC, AsDB, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, OECD, PCA,
SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador-designate Denis Bazely
Gordon McLEAN; Chancery at 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 328-4800; there are New Zealand Consulates General in Los
Angeles and New York;
US--Ambassador Della M. NEWMAN; Embassy at 29 Fitzherbert Terrace,
Thorndon, Wellington (mailing address is P. O. Box 1190, Wellington, or
FPO San Francisco 96690-0001); telephone [64] (4) 722-068; there is a US
Consulate General in Auckland
_#_Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant
with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer
half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Since 1984 the government has been reorienting an
agrarian economy dependent on a guaranteed British market to an open
free market economy that can compete on the global scene. The government
has hoped that dynamic growth would boost real incomes, reduce
inflationary pressures, and permit the expansion of welfare benefits. The
results have been mixed: inflation is down from double-digit levels
but growth has been sluggish and unemployment, always a highly sensitive
issue, has been at a record high 7.4%. In 1988 GDP fell by 1%, in
1989 grew by a moderate 2.4%, and was flat in 1990.
_#_GDP: $40.2 billion, per capita $12,200; real growth rate 0.7%
(1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.5% (FY90)
_#_Unemployment rate: 7.4% (March 1990)
_#_Budget: revenues $17.6 billion; expenditures $18.3 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (FY91 est.)
_#_Exports: $8.8 billion (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities--wool, lamb, mutton, beef, fruit, fish, cheese,
manufactures, chemicals, forestry products;
partners--EC 18.3%, Japan 17.9%, Australia 17.5%, US 13.5%,
China 3.6%, South Korea 3.1%
_#_Imports: $8.1 billion (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities--petroleum, consumer goods, motor vehicles, industrial
equipment;
partners--Australia 19.7%, Japan 16.9%, EC 16.9%, US 15.3%,
Taiwan 3.0%
_#_External debt: $17.4 billion (1989)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 1.9% (1990); accounts for
about 20% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 7,800,000 kW capacity; 28,000 million kWh produced,
8,500 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: food processing, wood and paper products, textiles,
machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism,
mining
_#_Agriculture: accounts for about 9% of GNP and 10% of the
work force; livestock predominates--wool, meat, dairy products all export
earners; crops--wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, and
vegetables; surplus producer of farm products; fish catch reached a
record 503,000 metric tons in 1988
_#_Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $526
million
_#_Currency: New Zealand dollar (plural--dollars);
1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1--1.6798 (January
1991), 1.6750 (1990), 1.6711 (1989), 1.5244 (1988), 1.6886 (1987), 1.9088
(1986), 2.0064 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 4,716 km total; all 1.067-meter gauge; 274 km double
track; 113 km electrified; over 99% government owned
_#_Highways: 92,648 km total; 49,547 km paved, 43,101 km gravel or
crushed stone
_#_Inland waterways: 1,609 km; of little importance to transportation
_#_Pipelines: 1,000 km natural gas; 160 km refined products; 150 km
condensate
_#_Ports: Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington, Tauranga
_#_Merchant marine: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 204,269
GRT/281,375 DWT; includes 5 cargo, 1 container, 4 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
1 railcar carrier, 4 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
1 liquefied gas, 5 bulk
_#_Civil air: about 40 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 157 total, 157 usable; 33 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 46 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: excellent international and domestic systems;
2,110,000 telephones; stations 64 AM, 2 FM, 14 TV; submarine cables
extend to Australia and Fiji; 2 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New
Zealand Air Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 874,443; 740,831 fit for
military service; 28,814 reach military age (20) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $832 million, 1-2% of GDP (FY90)
_%_
_@_Nicaragua
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 129,494 km2; land area: 120,254 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than New York State
_#_Land boundaries: 1,231 km total; Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
_#_Coastline: 910 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 25 nm security zone (status of claim uncertain);
Continental shelf: not specified;