New Zealand

Location	Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia
Geographic coordinates	41 00 S, 174 00 E
Map references	Oceania
Area	total: 267,710 sq km land: 267,710 sq km water: NA note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands
Area - comparative	about the size of Colorado
Land boundaries	0 km
Coastline	15,134 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate	temperate with sharp regional contrasts
Terrain	predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Aoraki-Mount Cook 3,754 m
Natural resources	natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone
Land use	arable land: 5.54% permanent crops: 6.92% other: 87.54% (2005)
Irrigated land	6,190 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	397 cu km (1995)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 2.11 cu km/yr (48%/9%/42%) per capita: 524 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity volcanism: significant volcanism on North Island; Ruapehu (elev. 2,797 m), which last erupted in 2007, has a history of large eruptions in the past century; Taranaki has the potential to produce dangerous avalanches and lahars; other historically active volcanoes include Okataina, Raoul Island, Tongariro, and White Island
Environment - current issues	deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by invasive species
Environment - international agreements	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Antarctic Seals, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note	almost 90% of the population lives in cities; Wellington is the southernmost national capital in the world