New Zealand – education
Education is free and public for 6-19 year olds as well as compulsory for the first ten years; however, most children begin school at the age of five. The public schools at the primary and middle school level are common to girls and boys, but in the continued course there are a few gender-segregated schools.
The six-year primary school is followed by a two-year middle school with a three-year superstructure, ending with the School Certificate after the 11th school year by 82% of all pupils, with the Sixth Form Certificate after the 12th school year by 27% or with the Higher School Certificate after the 13th school year of 11% (1996).
The latter exam provides access to the seven universities. In addition, there are 25 vocational education institutions, so-called Polytechnics, which are increasingly taking over the previous higher education institutions, as well as a number of other educational institutions.
OFFICIAL NAME: Aotearoa (‘The land of the long white cloud’)
CAPITAL CITY: Wellington
POPULATION: 4,200,000 (Source: COUNTRYaah)
AREA: 266,171 km²
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (S): English, Maori, others
RELIGION: Protestants 30%, Catholics 13%, Methodists 3%, other Christians 7%, Buddhists 1%, Hindus 1%, others el. no 45%
COIN: new Zealand dollar
CURRENCY CODE: NZD
ENGLISH NAME: New Zealand
POPULATION COMPOSITION: white 75%, Maori 14%, other Polynesians 5%, Asians 5%, others 1%
GDP PER residents: $ 30,500 (2013)
LIFE EXPECTANCY: men 80 years, women 84 years (2012)
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, HDI: 0.910
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, POSITION: 7
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME: .nz
New Zealand, Maori Aotearoa, island state of Oceania located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country consists of two large islands, the North Island and the South Island, in addition to smaller, coastal small islands and a few remote archipelagos.
- AbbreviationFinder.org: Find two-letter abbreviation for each independent country and territory, such as NZ which stands for New Zealand.
Traditionally, New Zealand was closely linked to the United Kingdom, and the society was characterized by sheep breeding and dairy farming for the European market; now the economy has become more versatile and relations are increasingly oriented towards Australia, Japan, South Korea and other countries in the region. New Zealand is a highly developed welfare state; culture and society are strongly influenced by the large European immigration in the 1800’s and 1900’s, but there is especially on the North Island a significant minority of the indigenous people, the Maori. In recent years, there has been particular immigration from Asia and from the small states of the Pacific.
New Zealand – Constitution
New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy and a member of the British Commonwealth. The status of the country was determined by the Westminster Statute in December 1931 (see also dominion). New Zealand has no written constitution; the constitutional practice, like the English one, is based on an accumulation of consent, precedent and tradition.
Legislative power lies with the House of Representatives, which since 1996 has had 120 members elected according to a variant of the proportional system; 55 of the members are on party lists and five seats are reserved for Maori. The election period is three years.
The executive power is formally vested in the British monarch, who is represented by a Governor – General, whose powers, duties and responsibilities were laid down by royal letter in May 1917. In carrying out his duties, the Governor – General shall be guided by an Executive Council. all ministers are sitting. The government, the Cabinet, is headed by a Prime Minister, who is appointed by the Governor-General on the basis of the parliamentary situation. The Governor-General approves the other ministers on the proposal of the Prime Minister.
New Zealand – social conditions
New Zealand’s social security schemes are built according to the Scandinavian model. The most important health and social benefits are available to all who live in the country, regardless of employment status, and the benefits are financed from the general taxes. The administration takes place through central government or regional bodies.
Everyone has the right to treatment in case of illness either at general practitioners or at private or public hospitals or clinics. Public treatment is free, while the state provides subsidies for private treatment. The subsidies are greatest for low-income families and for people with chronic, treatment-requiring illnesses. Generally, large subsidies are provided for the cost of prescription drugs. The health service also provides care and nursing for the elderly and disabled in nursing homes or in their own homes.
Tax-financed national pension, widow’s pension and disability pension are provided in the form of unemployment benefits. In order to receive a national pension, you had to be 60 years old in 1996, a limit that is raised year by year until it is 65 years old in 2001. Old-age pensioners’ income above a certain limit is deducted by 25% in the pension. Unemployment insurance is part of the general, tax-financed insurance system and is administered by the social authorities.
New Zealand’s social policy places great emphasis on prevention and counseling, and the social system provides significant support for the training and rehabilitation of people with disabilities and for open individual and family social counseling. A special feature of New Zealand’s social policy is that a significant proportion of the benefits are provided by voluntary organizations or by private or semi-public enterprises, which are paid for by the public sector. Check youremailverifier for New Zealand social condition facts.
New Zealand – health conditions
The development of the health condition is similar to that of Western Europe. The life expectancy for men has thus increased from 70.7 years in 1985 to 80.2 years in 2012, for women from 76.9 to 84.0. Infant mortality has dropped from 13 to 4.6 per 1000 live births in the same period; women get gnsntl. 2.1 children.
The most common causes of death are cardiovascular disease and cancer. Mortality from cardiovascular disease has been declining since 1975 and in 2008 amounted to approximately 30% of all deaths, while cancer mortality is rising slightly and in 2008 the cause of death was up to 30% of deaths. Deaths due to lung cancer in women have almost quadrupled in 30 years, but have stabilized in recent years. In men, it has been declining slowly since 1975.
After the country has had a publicly funded and organized healthcare system for decades, a number of reorganisations have taken place during the 1990’s, which has led to a partial privatization, which has increased patients’ direct payment for healthcare services. In 2011, the country spent 10.0% of GDP on health care, of which approximately 3/4 came from public coffers. In 2013, there were 2.8 doctors and 2.8 hospital beds per. 1000 residents.
New Zealand – legal system
New Zealand’s legal system follows the British model. Since the mid-1800’s. New Zealand has had its own legislation, but much of English law has been emulated, especially in family law, contract law and other commercial law, just as much emphasis is still placed on English case law.
New Zealand – military
The armed forces consist of (2014) almost 10,000 men. The Army (New Zealand Army/Ngāti Tumatauenga) is 4290 men, the Navy (Royal New Zealand Navy/Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa) 2166 and the Air Force (Royal New Zealand Air Force/Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa) 3253. The reserve is approximately 2500 men with the bulk of the army. The regular army has the character of a light brigade without actual tanks as well as a hunter unit (New Zealand Special Air Service). The fleet has two frigatesand six smaller combat units. The Air Force no longer has fighter jets, but only units to support the navy and the army: six maritime patrol aircraft, transport aircraft and helicopters, among others. eight new NHIndustries NH90.
One of RNZAF’s tasks is to supply the Scott base in Antarctica using Hercules aircraft.
New Zealand – mass media
In relation to the population, New Zealand has a large number of newspapers and radio stations, and every major city has its own newspaper. The largest of the country’s 23 dailies is the New Zealand Herald (grdl. 1863, circulation approximately 200,000 in 2005), which is published in Auckland. Other important dailies are The Press in Christchurch (grdl. 1861, circulation approximately 91,000 in 2005), and Dominion Post in Wellington (grdl. 1907, circulation approximately 98,000 in 2005). Two major media companies own the majority of the country’s newspapers. The New Zealand Press Association was founded in 1879.
In 1988, the public service broadcaster was split into Radio New Zealand and Television New Zealand (TVNZ). The radio company operates three national networks, and in addition there are over 200 commercial radio stations. TVNZ owns the channels TVONE and TV2, and the Maori have their own TV channel. In 1989, the private TV3 began broadcasting, and in the following years it was followed by several other private channels. Cable TV is widespread. At the beginning of the 21st century, New Zealand is the country in the world where the largest proportion of the population has internet access.
New Zealand – literature
New Zealand’s literature is understood far better than eg Australian or Canadian literature as divided between the indigenous people’s tradition, which is written both in Maori (written language from about 1800) and English as well as a pakeha tradition (pakeha is Maori’sdesignation for European migrants). Maori literature is based on the genealogies, songs and myths of the oral tradition. The Pakehal literature begins with the first major settlements in the 1840’s and the conquest wars in the 1860’s; but the heroic descriptions of early settler literature of the settlers’ struggles with nature and warlike natives often have in-depth descriptions of Maori culture. These range from the distortions in the first real New Zealand classic, Frederick Manings (1811-83) Old New Zealand (1863, then Travel to an Old World, 1953), to the more balanced Danish-New Zealand poet Johannes Andersen (1873-1962) descriptions and translations from the early 1900-t.
Culturally, immigrant New Zealanders long considered themselves British in the South Seas, and many of the country’s best-known writers from Katherine Mansfield to crime writer Ngaio Marshinternationally perceived only to a small degree as New Zealanders, although Mansfield’s influence has made the short story a dominant genre in New Zealand. It was not until the 1930’s in the circle of the poet Allen Curnow (1911-2001) that the idea of a national literature gained a foothold, based on a mythical conception of the island’s isolation, unique nature and Maori culture. In Frank Sargeson’s (1903-82) fine realistic short story art, society, in turn, is portrayed from the bottom up as a colonial slum in an underplayed New Zealand colloquialism, whose expressionlessness assumes both ironic and tragic dimensions. A circle around marginality develops in the two great writings of the next generation: In James K. Baxter (1926-72) a violent, romantic image-saturated nature poem turns into strong Old Testament doomsday visions inJerusalem Sonnets (1970), whereas Janet Frame in her impressionist novel art seeks psychological and narrative technical extremes. But otherwise nationalism and internationalism seem to coexist unproblematically with the poetic critics so characteristic of New Zealand: Allen Curnow, CK Stead (b. 1932), Vincent O’Sullivan (b. 1937) and Ian Wedde (b. 1946).
The 1970’s and 1980’s have been particularly marked by the Maori renaissance of prose, ranging from Witi Ihimaera’s (b. 1944) family chronicler (e.g. The Matriarch, 1986) to Alan Duff’s (b. 1950) strong depictions of a cultural collapse in Once Were Warriors (1990, then Warrior Heart, 1997), from Patricia Graces’ (b. 1937) re-creation of Maori narrative art in Potiki (1986) to Keri Hulme’s vision of a “commensalism” between Maori and pakeha in The Bone People (1983, da Marvfolket, 1987). There is also a smaller, “ethnic immigrant literature” intriguing from the Polynesian background in the Samoan author Albert Wendts (b. 1939) Sons for the Return Home(1973, da. Even though we love each other, 1989) for Danish dairy farming in Yvonne du Fresnes (1929-2011) short story collections Farvel (1980) and The Growing of Astrid Westergaard (1985).
New Zealand – ballet
New Zealand Ballet was founded in 1953 by the Danish solo dancer Poul Gnatt (1923-95), who was educated at the Royal Danish Ballet. Theater. It started as a small touring group, but was expanded in 1961 to a larger company and was based in Wellington. In 1967 a school was founded in the same city, and in 1984 the company changed its name to the Royal New Zealand Ballet. In 1962, Kirsten Ralov and Fredbjørn Bjørnsson staged Bournonville’s Naples with the New Zealand Ballet; it was the first set-up of all of Naples outside the Royal Palace. Theater.
New Zealand – film
The first New Zealand feature film was made in 1914, but only quite a few films were produced in the country until the late 1970’s; in the 1930’s, Len Lye (1901-80) gained international recognition for his abstract color experimental films. Inspired by Australian film policy, a state aid scheme was introduced in 1977, giving New Zealand films a major boost.
Promising directors were, for example, the Australian-born Roger Donaldson (b. 1945) and Geoff Murphy (b. 1938), who later both became anonymous action film directors in Hollywood; Jane Campion (b. 1954) won the 1993 Golden Palm at Cannes for The Piano (1993).
Notable was Lee Tamahori (b. 1951) with the harsh Once Were Warriors (1994) about today’s Maori, but in recent times it is especially Peter Jackson who has attracted attention about New Zealand film, first with splatter comedies and the strange murderous adventure Heavenly Creatures (1994), then with the magnificent, Oscar- winning trilogy The Lord of the Rings (2001-03) and the trilogy about the Hobbit (2012-14); both after JRR Tolkien.
New Zealand – wine
The first vines in the country were planted in 1819, but it was not until the 1860’s that more commercial production began. From 1895 onwards, the wine lice destroyed the burgeoning industry, and in order to get the wine growing going, they were replanted with American hybrids, which were dominant until the 1960’s. Modern viticulture began in 1973, when the large Montana winery established vineyards in Marlborough, but the big breakthrough came in 1985 with Cloudy Bay’s chardonnay, which was named the world’s best white wine.
In 1998, New Zealand had a vintage of approximately 80 mio. liters from a vineyard area of 8500 ha. The wine companies Montana and Corbans account for 80% of the breeding, while the rest is shared by about 200 other companies. Montana, Nobilo, Selaks, Babich and Villa Maria are among the well-known wineries, which were founded by immigrants from Croatia with a great influence on viticulture.
Marlborough on the South Island, along with Hawke’s Bay and Poverty Bay on the North Island are the largest wine districts. In the cool climate, the main grape varieties are the green chardonnay, müller-thurgau, sauvignon blanc, riesling and chenin blanc, while cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir and merlot give the best red wines. There are no rules in the style of the French AOC, but since 1975 the Wine Institute of New Zealand has had control and influence over production. New Zealand’s sauvignon blanc is considered by many to be among the best in the world with its crisp and aromatic style.
