New Zealand

New Zealand
Official languages Capital	Wellington
Area Government	268,021 km2 Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Population Religion	4,509,461 -
Time zone Currency	NZST (UTC+12) New Zealand dollar
Demonym	New Zealanders Kiwis (a nickname)
Preceded by Succeeded by

New Zealand is a country in the south-western Pacific Ocean. It is made up of two large islands (the North Island and South Island) and many much smaller islands.

The official languages are English, Māori (originally spoken by the Māori people who are native to the country) and New Zealand sign language.

New Zealand has made itself a Nuclear Free Zone: They do not use nuclear power and do not allow nuclear weapons in their territory.

The inhabitants of New Zealand are called New Zealanders.

The country is divided in 16 regions.

Organisation of the country

New Zealand is a monarchy ruled by the British sovereign, representated locally by a governor-general. The governor-general is nominated by the sovereign of New Zealand for a 5 year term. The prime minister is the head of government. The executive power is held by ministers of the government. The New Zealand governor-general, the prime minister and the ministers form the executive council. The legislative power is in the hands the parliament, comprising of 120 members, elected for a 3 year term. The New Zealand parliament was established in 1852. The New Zealand governor-general is the Queen's representative of the country to the rest of the commonwealth.

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