Country · Oceania
New Zealand
New Zealand is a country in Australia and New Zealand. About 4.8 million people live there, in an area of 270 467 square kilometres. Its capital city is Wellington.
Picture credit: Michal Klajban (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Michal Klajban (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Mandy Simpson (CC BY-SA 3.0) · lumoplank (CC0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is New Zealand?
New Zealand lies in Australia and New Zealand, on the continent of Oceania.
It sits in the southern half of the world, roughly 4 564 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 15 134 km long.
It has no land neighbours — every border it has is with the sea.
How big is New Zealand?
New Zealand covers 270 467 square kilometres.
That is about 6.6 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 75th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 17.9 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in New Zealand?
About 4.8 million people live in New Zealand.
That is the 121st biggest population in the world.
People here speak English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language.
They pay with the New Zealand dollar ($).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 78 years.
The land of New Zealand
The land of New Zealand sits on average 388 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 15 134 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 757 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes New Zealand different?
Dishes the country is known for: Bacon and egg pie, lamb and pavlova.
Websites from here often end in .nz.
New Zealand and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in New Zealand.
It takes up about 0.2 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Oceania the country ranks 3rd of 14 by size, and 3rd by population.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 19 live wild in New Zealand: European rabbit, Orca, Sperm whale, Common wasp, Deep-sea anglerfish, Ocean sunfish and more. The highest mountain in the country is Aoraki / Mount Cook, at 3 724 metres. The longest river in the country is the Waikato. The largest lake in the country is Lake Taupō.
European rabbit
Orca
Sperm whale
Common wasp
Deep-sea anglerfish
Ocean sunfish
Tuatara
Wandering albatross
Brown kiwi
Blobfish
Common brushtail possum
Elk
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is New Zealand compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 35 times as big as New Zealand: 9 372 610 km² against 270 467 km². See both on one map
- New Zealand and the United Kingdom are almost the same size: 270 467 km² against 242 900 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of New Zealand?
The capital of New Zealand is Wellington. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in New Zealand?
About 4.8 million people live in New Zealand, which makes it the 121st most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big is New Zealand?
New Zealand covers 270 467 square kilometres, making it the 75th largest country in the world. That is about 6.6 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in New Zealand?
The highest mountain in New Zealand is Aoraki / Mount Cook, 3 724 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in New Zealand?
The longest river in New Zealand is the Waikato, about 425 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in New Zealand?
The largest lake in New Zealand is Lake Taupō. It covers about 616 km².
Which continent is New Zealand in?
New Zealand is in Oceania, in the part called Australia and New Zealand.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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