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NEW ZEALAND

Maori Name: Aotearoa

• GENERAL
• GOVERNMENT
• ECONOMY
• BILATERAL RELATIONS

GENERAL

Area:

270,534 km2.

Population:

3,592,000 (Mar. 1995).

Capital:

Wellington.

Ethnic composition:

European (79%), Maori (13%), Pacific islanders (5%).

Major languages:

English, Maori (both official).

Major religions:

Church of England (22%), Presbyterian (16%), Roman Catholic (15%) (1991 census).

History:

In 1642 the Dutch mariner Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand, and in 1769 the English navigator Captain James Cook explored the two main islands. New Zealand became a British colony in 1840 with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi by representatives of Britain and the chiefs of Maori tribes. New Zealand became a self-governing dominion of the British Empire in 1907, and when it adopted the Statute of Westminster in 1947, it gained full independence.

GOVERNMENT

Type:

Constitutional monarchy.

Head of state:

Queen Elizabeth II.

Governer General:

Dame Catherine Tizard.

Legislature:

The unicameral House of Representatives consists of 99 members serving three-year terms. The current distribution of seats is 43 for the National Party, 42 for the Labour Party, 7 for the United New Zealand Party, 2 each for the Alliance, New Zealand First, and Right of Centre Parties, and 1 for the Christian Democrats Party.

Executive:

James Bolger is prime minister, and Don McKinnon is minister of foreign affairs and trade.

ECONOMY

Major industries:

Agriculture.

GNP:

$44.7 billion (1993).

Per capita GNP:

$12,900 (1993).

Real growth rate:

4.8% (1993).

Inflation:

1.3% (1993).

Unemployment:

9.2% (1993).

Trade:

Exports:NZ$19.1 billion; imports: NZ$17.0 billion (July 1993-June 1994).

Principal items traded:

Exports: meats (15%), dairy products (15%), forest products (13%), wool (6%), fruits and vegetables (6%), fish (4%); imports: machinery and mechanical appliances (27%), minerals, chemicals, plastics, and their products (24%), vehicles and aircraft (15%) (July 1993-June 1994)

Principal trading partners:

Exports: Australia (20%), Japan (15%), United States (11%), Britain (6%); imports: Australia (22%), United States (18%), Japan (16%), Britain (6%) (July 1993-June 1994).

Currency:

New Zealand dollar. NZ$1=58.60 yen (June 30, 1995).

BILATERAL RELATIONS

Trade:

Exports to Japan: NZ$2,876.9 million, featuring wood and pulp (19%), aluminum (13%), fish and fish products (12%), fruits and vegetables (11%), dairy products (9%), meats (7%); imports from Japan: NZ$2,693.9 million, featuring transport machinery (43%), general machinery (17%), electric machinery (13%), optical and medical equipment (5%), steel (3%) (July 1993-June 1994).

Investment:

Cumulative Japanese direct investment in New Zealand in the fiscal 1951-93 period came to $1,262 million (442 cases).

Cultural:

Japan supports personnel exchanges and provides assistance for Japanese-language teaching, exhibitions, performances, and other activities through programs operated by the Foreign Ministry, the Japan Foundation, and other organizations. At the local level, there are 23 pairs of sister cities. Among the main private organizations promoting exchange are, on the Japanese side, the Japan, Australia, New Zealand Society Inc. and the Japan-New Zealand Association and, on the New Zealand side, the Japan Society.

Japanese residing in New Zealand:

3,646, including 1,826 permanent residents (Oct. 1994).

New Zealanders residing in Japan:

2,063 (June 1994).

Visits by eminent persons:

Japan to New Zealand: Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa (1990), Foreign Minister Taro Nakayama (1991), Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Minister Motoji Kondo (1991), Vice-President of the House of Councillors Ippei Koyama (1991), Transport Minister Keiwa Okuda (1992), Princess Sayako (1992), Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa (1993), House of Councillors member Mayumi Moriyama (1993), Science and Technology Agency Director General Makiko Tanaka (1995), Finance Minister Masayoshi Takemura (1995);
New Zealand to Japan: Speaker of the House of Representatives Sir Kerry Burke (1990), Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer (1990), Trade Negotiations Minister Philip Burdon (1991, 1994), Tourism Minister John Banks (1991), Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Don McKinnon (1991, 1994), Finance Minister Ruth Richardson (1992, 1993), Agriculture and Forestry Minister John Falloon (1992), Prime Minister James Bolger (1993), Finance Minister Bill Birch (1994, 1995), Speaker of the House of Representatives Peter Tapsell (1994), Justice Minister Doug Graham (1994), Research, Science, and Technology Minister Simon Upton (1994), Transport Minister Maurice Williamson (1994), Business Development Minister Roger Maxwell (1994).

Treaties and agreements:

Agreement on Commerce Between Japan and New Zealand (1958), Convention Between Japan and New Zealand for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income (1963), Arrangement Between the Government of Japan and the Government of New Zealand Concerning Reciprocal Waiving of Passport Visas and Passport Visa Fees (1970), Agreement on Fisheries Between the Government of Japan and the Government of New Zealand (1978), Agreement Between the Government of Japan and the Government of New Zealand for Air Services (1980), Arrangement Between the Government of Japan and the Government of New Zealand Concerning Reciprocal Waiving of Visas and Visa Fees for the Working Holiday (1985).

(July 1995)