New Zealand ( Māori : Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa] ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean . It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island ( Te Ika-a-Māui ) and the South Island ( Te Waipounamu )—and over 700 smaller islands . It is the sixth-largest island country by area, covering 268,021 square kilometres (103,500 sq mi). New Zealand is about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the islands of New Caledonia , Fiji , and
The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and then developed a distinctive Māori culture . In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi , which in its English version declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a col
A developed country , New Zealand ranks 13th in the Human Development Index. The country was the first to introduce a minimum wage , and the first to give women the right to vote . New Zealand underwent major economic changes during the 1980s, which transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy. The service sector dominates the national economy , followed by the industrial sector, and agriculture ; international tourism is also a significant source of revenue. Nationally, legislati
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