New Zealand – A Few Highlights
New Zealand is a country situated in the southern Pacific Ocean. The total land of the country is almost 270,000 sq km (103,500 sq mls) The country is separated into two primary areas – the North Island and the South Island. It also has around six hundred smaller-sized islands. It lies across the Tasman Sea roughly 3kkm (2k miles) eastwards of Australia and about 800kms (600 miles south of the Pacific Island. New Zealand has a varied topography with tall mountainous areas like the South Island alpine range that produced by structural uplift.
In other parts of the country you can find river plains, volcanic activity and not so steep terrain.
NZ is a developed country. It rates well with other developed countries with regard to its performance like schooling, economic liberty, government transparency, as well as protection of civil liberties.
The country’s most populous metropolis is Auckland but the capital is the smaller city Wellington.
Thanks to its sophisticated economy, in 2018 NZ was rated third in the Economic Freedom Index and also 16th in the HDI. It is a higher income nation having a Gross Domestic Product of US$ 36,254 per head.
The economic activity is dominated by the services market with the second largest being farming then the manufacturing industry. Tourist activity contributes a substantial 12.9 bn dollars (5.6%) to the overall GDP of the country. Up to 2019 it employed about 8% of the country’s complete workforce. Prior to Covid-19 international visitor figures are forecast to rise at a over 5% each year, nevertheless, Covid-19 limitations clearly have crushed the tourist market to such an extent that it has virtually been brought to a standstill.
The mining industries have been historically leading contributors to the economy with industries such as whaling, kauri gum for paint, gold, flax, and indigenous wood being the focus at various times.
Dairy products and also meat exports to the UK was established in the late 19th century with the initial shipment of NZ refrigerated lamb on the Dunedin. The foundation of this trade led solid monetary expansion for NZ. During the 1950s to 1960s, an increased demand for farming items from the United States and the UK contributed to greater living standards for Kiwis that went beyond those of Europe and Australia. Succeeding governments since 1984 have brought about major economic changes that rapidly changed the nation from a extremely controlled and protectionist economic situation to a liberal, free-trade economy.
The economic situation of New Zealand relies greatly on global trade, specifically dairy and meat goods. Because exporting accounts for nearly 24% of the country’s GDP, this places the nation in a susceptible position when it comes to global financial difficulties and global product rates.
In 2014, food products comprised over 50% of the value of the total NZ export trade with wood at around 7% coming in the second largest.
Major trading partners include PRC at NZ$ nearly 28 billion, Australia at NZD 26.2 billion, the European Union at NZD 22.9 billion, the UNITED STATES at NZD 17.6 billion, then Japan with NZD 8.4 bn.
The New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement was signed between New Zealand on the 7th April, 2008 and was the very first such agreement to be signed by the PRC with a developed nation.
Milk and cheese products accounted for over $14bbillion (17.7%) of total export trade in 2018. One company, Fonterra, manages virtually a third of the country’s worldwide exports.
Various other overseas trade features lamb and beef at 8.8%, wood items and also timber at 6.2%, fruit at 3.6%, machinery at over 2%, wine at in excess of 2%. Following a comparable pattern to the dairy products market, wine sales practically increased two-fold surpassing wool sales in 2007. In the worldwide the pandemic, the bottled and bulk wine industry had substantial sales increases with even more New Zealand white wine being imported by various other nations.
Internally the business community is composed of mostly small businesses, 71% of them being one-man bands and 19% having between 1 and 5 people.
Innovation and the art sector are growth sectors. NZ has earned worldwide recognition for the electronic media as well as film recording.
The biggest metro area in the country, Auckland, has a population of one and a half million from a total population of just over 5million. The two regions of Christchurch and Wellington have a similar populace of about 400,000.