Interesting Statistics and Facts

Voted best country in the world (Telegraph Travel readers)
Voted 3rd most scenic country in the world (Rough Guide readers)
Area covered – 268,021 square kms
Coastline – 15,134 kms
Highest point – Mount Cook – 3,724m
43.2% of NZ is agricultural land
31.4% of NZ is forest
Nowhere in New Zealand is further than 128 kms from the sea

Wildlife and Sheep
There are no snakes in New Zealand
New Zealand has more species of penguins than any other country
Wetas are the world’s largest insect. The giant weta weighs around 70 grams and is about the size of a small bird.
New Zealand has only one native mammal – a tiny bat
New Zealanders don’t like possums
New Zealand has the highest density of sheep (in its agriculture areas) in the world
50 million sheep live in New Zealand (the number fluctuates dramatically each year)
10 million beef and dairy cattle also live in NZ
0.87 million deer were on farms in New Zealand in 2017

Population
4,510,327 inhabitants according to the July 2017 estimate
According to the 2013 census, this population is split into the following ethnic groups (NB the 2018 Census is underway at the moment)
• 71.2% – European
• 14.1% – Maori
• 11.3% – Asian
• 7.6% – Pacific peoples
• 1.1% – Middle Eastern, Latin American
• 1.1% – African
• 1.6% – Other
• 5.4% – Not stated or unidentified

Age Structure of Population
• 19.69% – 0-14 years
• 13.35% – 15-24
• 39.82% – 25-54
• 11.89% – 55-64
• 15.25% – 65 and over

Languages
• 89.8% – English (de facto official)
• 3.5% – Maori (de jure official)
• 2.0% – Samoan
• 1.6% – Hindi
• 1.2% – French
• 1.2% – Northern Chinese
• 1.0% – Yue
• 20.5% – Other or not stated

Religion
• 44.3% – Christian
• 2.1% – Hindu
• 1.4% – Buddhist
• 1.3% – Maori Christian
• 1.1% – Islam
• 1.4% – Other religions
• 38.5% – No religion
• 8.2% – Not stated or unidentified
• 4.1% – Objected to answering

Over ¾ of New Zealanders live on North Island, mostly in concentrated urban areas
86.4% of the total population live in urban areas
The Maori make up 15% of New Zealand’s population
Population growth is estimated at 0.79% (2017 estimate)
New Zealand has two national anthems – “God save the Queen” and “God Defend New Zealand”

Education
1st – 2017 Worldwide Educating for the Future Index
1st in the country and 163rd in world – University of Auckland
4th – in the world for reading, writing and maths
1st – in the world for high school education system of all English speaking countries
12th – dentistry training
25th – veterinary training

Alcohol
New Zealanders consume an average of 64.7 litres of beer per annum, making them 27th in the world rankings.
New Zealand has over 150 craft breweries and the number is growing rapidly
New Zealand exported 250 million litres of wine in 2017