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New Zealand Geography

New Zealand’s small population is widely distributed across a long, narrow and mountainous country. It is located in the South Pacific and is distant from the majority of its trading partners. It has an export-dependent economy, with a significant reliance on the agricultural sector. Some 85 per cent of New Zealand’s total food production goes to the international market. New Zealand’s geography and population distribution has contributed to a dependence on fossil fuel-powered transport.

New Zealand is a long, narrow, mountainous country. It consists of two large islands, the North Island and the South Island, and a number of smaller islands. It is located in the southwest Pacific Ocean between 33° and 55° south latitude. The nearest large land mass (Australia) is more than 2,000 kilometers away.

New Zealand has a combined land area of around 27 million hectares and is similar in size to Japan or the United Kingdom. Its coastline is one of the longest in the world (at 15,000 kilometres) and, in some places, is the most deeply indented. New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone is also one of the largest in the world. Combined, the Exclusive Economic Zone and New Zealand’s territorial sea cover 4.4 million square kilometers.

New Zealand straddles the boundary of the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates. The resulting earth movements have produced hilly and mountainous terrain over two-thirds of the land. There are frequent earthquakes in most parts of the country. There is also a zone of volcanic and geothermal activity in the central North Island.

Two major earthquakes occurred in the Canterbury region in the South Island on 4 September 2010 and on 22 February 2011, followed by a series of aftershocks. The magnitude 7.1 September earthquake occurred at night, and caused some damage but no loss of life. The magnitude 6.3 February earthquake caused widespread damage in the Canterbury region, particularly in the central and eastern parts of Christchurch City. One hundred and eighty five lives were lost.

After New Zealand’s land mass broke away from the continents, plants and animals evolved in isolation for millions of years, almost entirely without the presence of mammals. As a result, New Zealand’s biodiversity is unique, with a huge diversity of birdlife and a high number of species found nowhere else in the world. Today, grassland for agriculture, natural forest and plantation forestry are New Zealand’s main land uses. Around one-third of New Zealand’s land is protected for conservation purposes.