New Zeland, the English-speaking country

Bakanova Sofia
Form 6
School 17

New Zealand
New Zealand is a very interesting country. It has got a total area of 269.000 square kilometers.
There are some big cities as Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson.
Auckland and Wellington are the main ports of the country.

Two main islands
It is situated to the southeast of Australia in the Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands(North Island and South Island) and some smaller ones.

Population
Nearly 4 million people live in the country.

The capital
The capital of New Zealand Island is Wellington. It is a financial centre too. The city was founded in 1840 and has been the capital since 1865.

Official language
The official language is English.
A small part of the population speaks the language of
the aboriginal
Maori, who are
15% of the
country

Climate and Industry
The climate in the country is mild.
As grass grows very quickly, the main industry in New Zealand is agriculture, especially cattle farming, marine fishing, fruit production. Paper and rubber industries are developed too.
New Zealand exports wool, meat, butter.

Mountains
There are many mountains in New Zealand. The highest is Mount Cook (3.764 meters or 12.349 feet).

Rivers and lakes
There are many rivers and lakes in the country. The chief river is the Waikato. Lake Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand.

Animals and birds
Have you heard about the native animals and birds of the country? One of them is the kiwi.

Kiwi
This interesting bird lives in the wet pats of the thick bushes. In the day-time the bird does not go out. It comes out only at night to find food. Kiwis cannot fly.
Many years ago kiwis were hunted for food. Now the government does not permit the hunting of kiwis. The kiwi is now the symbol of New Zealand people. Small children are often called kiwis.

Independent
state
New Zealand is an independent state, yet formerly it was a part of the British Empire. The head of the state is Queen Elizabeth II but her position is largely symbolic.
The Head of Government is the Prime Minister.
New Zealand's government is based on the parliamentary democracy. There are two main parties, National and Labour.

Thank you for attention!