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New Zealand Facts & Worksheets

New Zealand is a country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean consisting of 2 main islands, both marked by volcanoes and glaciation.

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The archipelago of islands known as New Zealand is located in the southeast Pacific Ocean. The North and South Islands, the two largest islands, are divided by the Cook Strait. In terms of human history, New Zealand is a relatively new nation and was the last most significant city ever found.

See the fact file below for more information on New Zealand, or you can download our 20-page New Zealand worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

History of New Zealand

  • The Mori’s ancestors were among the earliest visitors to New Zealand. Between 1200 and 1300 CE, the earliest inhabitants most likely came from Polynesia. They used the ocean currents, winds, and stars to guide them as they traveled the Pacific, discovering New Zealand along the way. They established a hunter-gatherer, agrarian, and fishing-based tribal civilization.
  • The islands first saw visits from Europeans in the seventeenth century, but regular communication didn’t begin until the late eighteenth century. 
  • Europeans were dispersed around the islands by the early nineteenth century as traders, sealers, miners, missionaries, and escapees from Britain’s adjacent penal camps. They began to refer to the region as New Zealand, the name the Dutch had given it.
  • Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer, visited the islands in the 1600s, but his group departed after coming under assault. After an area in the Netherlands, New Zealand was given the name Nieuw Zeeland.
  • Captain James Cook visited the islands in 1769. In 1840, the British created colonies and negotiated a treaty with the Maori. 
  • After their lands were taken, the Maori objected to the treaty, and in the 1860s, they started a 12-year conflict with the British for the sovereignty of North Island. In the 1870s, tranquility returned to the islands.
  • Following 1840, European colonization—dominated by the British and Scots—proceeded quickly, and a significant amount of Maori territory was ceded under conditions ranging from sale to forcible annexation. Maori frequently resisted and were subdued, occasionally in deliberate combat. The effects of sickness and eviction also led to a relative and absolute reduction in the Maori population. It declined from 300,000 people at the start of the twentieth century to probably 100,000 people at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
  • The pastoral sector, primarily wool, and later mining, particularly gold in the South Island, were the foundations upon which the Europeans built their colonial economies. 
  • European New Zealanders likely enjoyed the greatest quality of life in the world at the beginning of the 20th century thanks to the export of these essential goods to Britain, to whom they had strong political and emotional ties. They also created a democratic colonial state, which in 1893 granted women the right to vote for the first time in history. This state was employed to control business and create a fair social structure. The Labor Party administration expanded this after 1935 to become the first and possibly largest welfare state in history. This featured a sizable educational system.
  • New Zealand attained its independence in the late 1890s.
  • In 1899, New Zealand sent soldiers to fight for Britain in the Boer War.
  • In World War I, thousands of New Zealanders served and lost their lives abroad.
  • New Zealanders fought abroad in World War II, the 1950s in Korea, and the 1960s in Vietnam.
  • By 1907, New Zealand was proclaimed as a Dominion within the British Empire, and in 1947 it adopted the Statute of Westminster, which confirmed that Britain no longer made decisions without the consent of New Zealand’s officials.
  • The Maori entered the European economy and metropolitan areas starting in the 1920s, and by the 1980s, more than 80% of them were residing in cities. At the same time, a rising number of Polynesians from other Pacific nations arrived in New Zealand. Numerous Asians also emigrated to New Zealand during the 1980s, especially in the first half of the 1990s. However, the numbers have decreased due to stricter regulations and the economic downturn.

Geography of New Zealand

  • Geographically, it is composed of two islands – the North Island and the South Island, along with several smaller islands.
  • The Tasman Sea physically divides New Zealand from Australia, which is not a part of it. The distance between Tasmania, an Australian island state, and the South Island of New Zealand is around 1,500 km (932 miles) at their closest point.
  • Due to its remote location, New Zealand is home to a large number of rare species that are unique to the world. The majority of animals that live on land are birds, and many of these species no longer have the ability to fly. 
  • Half of the creatures on the islands have vanished from existence in the last thousand years. The kiwi bird is among the numerous surviving species threatened by deforestation and the draining of swampland. There are less than 75,000 wild kiwis left. Several species are making a comeback, including the kakapo, kokako, kiwi, and tuatara.
  • The only terrestrial animals that have crossed an ocean are bats. The absence of mammals on the islands led to the evolution of birds and insects, including the weta. At 2.5 ounces (70 grams), the vast weta weighs three times as much as a mouse. It is a cousin of crickets and one of the heaviest insects in the world.
  • On their journey to reproduce, pilot and humpback whales stop by the islands while orcas arrive to feed on dolphins.
  • A “spine” of mountain ranges cuts across the middle of New Zealand’s North Island, with gently rolling farmland on each side. The central portion of the North Island is dominated by the Volcanic Plateau, an active volcanic and thermal zone. 
  • About 82% of New Zealand’s plants are endemic, meaning they are only found in a particular location.
  • Some trees you’d find in New Zealand include the podocarp, southern beech, and the kauri tree.
  • As a result of underground activity, New Zealand has access to some breathtaking geothermal sites, soothing hot springs, and in certain places, energy and warmth. With several mud pools, geysers, and hot springs in its active thermal zones, not to mention its infamous “Sulphur City” odor, Rotorua is the primary center for geothermal attractions. 
  • Rotorua was first inhabited by Maori, who used the hot springs for bathing and cooking. Eventually, Europeans moved there as well, and the area rapidly acquired the moniker “Cureland” due to the purported medicinal advantages of its hot springs.
  • More than 15,000 kilometers of stunning and diverse coastline may be found in New Zealand. Long, sandy beaches are available in the Far North and along the majority of the North Island’s east coast, making them ideal for swimming, surfing, and sunbathing. The west coast of the North Island features iron-rich, black sand beaches. Beautiful sandy beaches may be found in the north of the South Island, while the remainder of the island’s coastline is more mountainous and wild.
  • Due to New Zealand’s proximity to both warm and cool ocean currents, a large variety of fish are found in its waters, including tuna, marlin, sharks, snapper, red cod, and flounder.
  • Mountains make up around a fifth of the North Island and about two-thirds of the South Island. These mountains, which extend from the northern part of the North Island to the southernmost tip of the South Island, were created by the collision of the Australian and Pacific plates.
  • The enormous Canterbury Plains in the South Island and many smaller plains in the North Island were created over millions of years by alluvial deposits that rivers eroded off the mountains. Some of New Zealand’s most prosperous and productive farms may be found on these alluvial plains.
  • Parts of the New Zealand terrain have been buried for thousands of years as a result of subduction. High mountain ranges that have “sunk” into the sea to form stunning sounds and fiords include the Marlborough Sounds and Fiordland. With their high, lush slopes plummeting down to the deep, calm bays below, these regions provide some of New Zealand’s most breathtaking landscapes. These sites are perfect for boating and kayaking since they have clear, deep quiet water and gorgeous flora surrounding them.
  • The Tasman glacier is the biggest in New Zealand’s Southern Alps, which can be seen by taking a short walk from Mount Cook town. The Franz Josef and Fox glaciers on the South Island’s West Coast are New Zealand’s most well-known glaciers.

Trade & Cultural Diversity

  • 96% of people living in New Zealand speak English as their native language; it is difficult for many English speakers from the Northern Hemisphere to tell the difference between an Australian and a New Zealand accent.
  • English, along with Te Reo Mori (the Mori language) and New Zealand Sign Language, is one of New Zealand’s three official languages. However, English spoken in the United States and the United Kingdom sounds very different from English spoken in our countries.
  • New Zealand has expanded its cultural diversity. Various ethnic groups have been encouraged to move here, especially since the 1980s, and New Zealand is now considerably more cosmopolitan.
  • 25% of New Zealanders were born overseas, 15% were Mori, over 12% are Asian, and over 7% are from Pacific Island countries, according to statistics from the 2013 national census. Following English, Mori, and Samoan, the most widely spoken languages in New Zealand is Hindi.
  • Many of the major sports in New Zealand have British origins, with popular sports being rugby, golf, tennis, and cricket.
  • Polynesia, Europe, and Asia heavily influence the cuisine, and dishes include lamb, oysters, kumara (sweet potato), and fish.
  • Britain was a significant and reliable market for our agricultural products. But New Zealand lost that significant market when the United Kingdom joined the EEC in 1973, which dealt a blow to the nation and our commercial sector.
  • Fortunately, New Zealand had already started to diversify its export industry. As a result, when Britain entered the EEC, it inspired New Zealand to broaden its horizons. Their agricultural products, as well as many other commodities, are currently sold to several nations.
  • New Zealand exports food and wood and trades with Japan, Australia, the U.S, the U.K, and China (with whom they have a free-trade agreement).
  • Tourism also makes up a large chunk of New Zealand’s economy, which is estimated to bring in roughly 13 million New Zealand dollars annually.
  • New Zealand is often marketed as a “clean, green” thrill-seeking playground with plenty of rugged outdoor activities.
  • The ideal destination is New Zealand. With an extremely low crime rate, it is routinely ranked as one of the safest nations in the world. Additionally, New Zealanders benefit from a top-notch healthcare system.
  • In 2001, New Zealand placed 19th on the list of nations in terms of education, health, and quality of life, according to the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) Human Development Indicator (HDI). This position is lower than it was, but New Zealand is still considered one of the world’s “rich” countries. In terms of per capita GDP, it is significantly lower than the American level, despite a continuous rise in real GDP per capita between 1975 and 1998.
  • By sector and job type, New Zealand salaries differ. However, as of mid-2021, the average hourly wage in New Zealand was just under NZ$27 (or, using a 40-hour workweek, NZD$56,160 year). NZ has a minimum wage that is required by law to safeguard employees.
  • Even though the average wage in New Zealand is less than that in the US and the UK ($2,283 vs. $3,263 and $3,065, respectively in 2012, according to the Purchasing Power Parity scale), some industries do provide comparable salaries.

Indigenous People

  • People from New Zealand are warm and approachable and uphold the “manaakitanga,” or hospitality, attitude. Five million people make up New Zealand, a country with a patchwork past influenced by Mori, European, Pacific Island, and Asian cultures.
  • Mori people journeyed thousands of miles in miniature ocean-going canoes over the vast, unexplored Pacific Ocean to become the first inhabitants of Aotearoa, New Zealand, more than 400 years before Christopher Columbus and the rest of Europe were concerned about falling off the edge of the globe. Maori culture is an integral part of New Zealand’s national identity.
  • The Maori culture is highly revered in New Zealand, and several disputed land parcels were restored to the Maori in 1998, giving rise to the country’s name, Aotearoa, which means “The Land of the Long White Cloud.”
  • Geographically, more than 75 percent of people reside on the North Island, with 30 percent residing in Auckland. Most of the remaining Kiwis live in Wellington, Christchurch, and Hamilton, the other major cities.
  • Some people myths claim that Kupe was the first Polynesian to find the islands of New Zealand. Fishing difficulties in his native state of Hawaii spurred his trip there. The issue seemed to come from a huge octopus belonging to Kupe’s competitor Muturangi. Kupe set off on his canoe to kill the octopus, and the pursuit brought him all the way to New Zealand. Together with a friend named Ngake (or Ngahue), he pursued the beast to Cook Strait (also known as Raukawakawa), where it was eventually killed.
  • European settlers in New Zealand were likewise courageous, tough, and self-sufficient. They had to clear the land first before creating farms and communities, which was a time-consuming and occasionally deadly task. Because of their seclusion and exposure to the weather, these early New Zealanders had to become tough and multi-skilled.
  • This resourcefulness and inventiveness have tremendously influenced the character of New Zealand. The same characteristics may be found in today’s new pioneers, a generation of young New Zealand company leaders, computer software developers, filmmakers, fashion designers, and athletes who are creating waves throughout the world.

New Zealand Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about New Zealand across 20 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use New Zealand worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about New Zealand, which is a country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean consisting of 2 main islands, both marked by volcanoes and glaciation. Capital Wellington, on the North Island, is home to Te Papa Tongarewa, the expansive national museum. Wellington’s dramatic Mt. Victoria, along with the South Island’s Fiordland and Southern Lakes, stood in for mythical Middle Earth in Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” films.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • New Zealand Fact File
  • Zealandia
  • Definition Matching
  • New Zealand Wordsearch
  • James Cook Profile
  • Coloring Page
  • New Zealand Crossword
  • Mountains in the Alphabet
  • New Zealand Scavenger Hunt
  • Postcard from New Zealand

Frequently Asked Questions

Is New Zealand a part of Australia?

No, It does not belong to Australia. The Tasman Sea physically divides New Zealand from Australia, which is not a part of it. The distance between Tasmania, an Australian island state, and the South Island of New Zealand is around 1,500 km (932 miles) at their closest point.

Does New Zealand speak English?

Yes, English, along with Te Reo Mori (the Mori language) and New Zealand Sign Language, is one of New Zealand’s three official languages. However, English spoken in the United States and the United Kingdom sounds very different from English spoken in our countries.

Is New Zealand a good place to live in?

Yes, It is. New Zealand has an extremely low crime rate and is routinely ranked as one of the safest nations in the world. New Zealanders benefit from a top-notch healthcare system.

Is New Zealand rich?

New Zealand placed 19th on the list of nations in terms of education, health, and quality of life, according to the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) Human Development Indicator (HDI). This position is lower than it was, but New Zealand is still considered one of the world’s “rich” countries. In terms of per capita GDP, it is significantly lower than the American level, despite a continuous rise in real GDP per capita between 1975 and 1998.

What is the average salary in New Zealand?

By sector and job type, New Zealand salaries differ. However, as of mid-2021, the average hourly wage in New Zealand was just under NZ$27 (or, using a 40-hour workweek, NZD$56,160 year). NZ has a minimum wage that is required by law to safeguard employees.

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Link will appear as New Zealand Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, October 2, 2018

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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