About New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean. This country geographically consists of two main land masses namely the South and the North Islands and about 600 smaller islands. The two main islands are marked by volcanoes and glaciation. Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and its largest city is Auckland. The expansive museum, Te papa Tongareva is Wellington. 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. New Zealand is located 1500km east of Australia across the Tasmania Sea and roughly 1000km south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga.
The country has a total land area of 268,021 sq. kilometers with a population of about 4.7 million people. It was one of the last lands where humans settled because of its remote location. The Maori name of New Zealand is Aotearoa which means the land of the long white cloud. The nickname of a New Zealander is Kiwi. The official languages spoken in New Zealand are English and Maori. The country is part of Pacific Rim of fire and its most active volcano is Mt Ruapehu found in the middle of the North Island. 30% of the land mass of New Zealand is covered by Forest. There are no snakes in New Zealand. The country does not have nuclear power stations.
New Zealand is a popular summer destination for tourists. This is partly due to the fascinating Maori culture, amazing scenery, and also the huge success of the film “The Lord of the Rings.” The highest earning exports of New Zealand are dairy products.
New Zealand is one of the safest places to live on earth with high-quality living conditions. The qualifications from New Zealand have a good reputation around the world and they are practical, modern and of a high quality. All the eight universities in New Zealand feature in the QS World University Rankings® 2016-2017.