100 interesting facts about New Zealand

1. New Zealand is home to  the smallest species of dolphin  on Earth.
2. Blue Lake in Nelson Lakes National Park has  the clearest water in the world.
3. New Zealand has  more Scottish pipe bands per capita than any other country in the world.
4. New Zealand is  the least corrupt country in the world  (tied with  Denmark  ) according to the Corruption Perceptions Index.
5. Wellington  is  the southernmost capital city in the world.
6. In the scene in Star Trek: First Contact where Earth is seen from space,  Australia  and Papua New Guinea are clearly visible, but New Zealand is missing.
7. No part of the country is further than  128 km (79 miles) from the sea.
8. The name of the longest place in the world is  Taumatawakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu.
9. The kea, a bird native to New Zealand, is known for yanking windshield wipers off cars and eating rubber strips off windows.

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1. Auckland is one of the most  affordable cities  in the world to live in.
2. In 1893, New Zealand became the first country  to give women the right to vote.
3. New Zealand has more  species of penguins  than any other country.
4. In New Zealand, every year people die while  bowling  rather than scuba diving.
5. The lowest denomination of New Zealand currency is  10 cents.
6. The first person to climb Everest,  Sir Edmund Hillary, was from New Zealand.
7. Organized advertising of bungee jumping has started in  New Zealand.
8.  In 2008, TripAdvisor ranked Milford Sound as the world’s number one tourist destination, according to an international survey .
9. New Zealand has  three official languages: English  , Māori and New Zealand Sign Language.
10. New Zealand is responsible for  the Tokelau group of islands  in the South Pacific Ocean.

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1. The  driest city  in New Zealand is  Christchurch, and the wettest is Wellington.
2. Due to its geographical location and shape,   New Zealand’s climate is maritime.
3. New Zealand’s North Island is  the 14th  largest island in the world.
4. Lake Taupo, an ancient volcanic crater,  is New Zealand’s largest natural lake.
5. New Zealand is one of only  three  countries in Oceania.
6. New Zealand is  1000 miles long  from north to south and 280 miles wide.
7. Gisborne is the first city on the planet where you can see the sunrise every day.
8. More than  360 glaciers  make up New Zealand’s Southern Alps.
9. The Tasman Glacier   , east of Mount Cook, is  New Zealand’s largest glacier.

Hope you’re not tired, we have some more interesting facts about New Zealand!

1. Mount Taranaki or Egmont has been a dormant volcano since  the seventeenth century.
2. New Zealand is part of  the Pacific Ring of Fire.
3. The New Zealand  kauri tree  takes about  200 years to mature.
4. In New Zealand,  Pohutukawa  is the Kiwi Christmas tree.
5. New Zealand has also joined  the Pacific Islands Forum.
6. The New Zealand government is  a constitutional monarchy.
7. General elections are held every  three years.
8. Queen  Elizabeth II of Great Britain  is the official Queen of New Zealand.
9. The history of New Zealand says that the Maori were  the first people  to set foot on this land.
10. New Zealand was once called  “Staten Landt”.  ‘
11. The Treaty  of Waitangi  is New Zealand’s founding document.
12. The Treaty of Waitangi area   remains a tourist destination today.
13. New Zealand, annexed by the United Kingdom in 1840, became the  largest country  in Polynesia.
14. New Zealand only became fully independent in  1947.
15. The Australian Constitution made New Zealand  one of its states.
16. New Zealand  does not have  a nuclear power station.
17. The first country in the world to legalize  suffrage was New Zealand.
18. New Zealand is the first country to have  women in the top three positions simultaneously.
19. New Zealand is home to its first  transgender Member of Parliament.
20. In New Zealand, the average  life expectancy is 80.3 years.
21. New Zealand is  the second largest  wool producer in the world.

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1. New Zealand is  the 8th  largest  dairy producer  in the world.
2. New Zealand became the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to legalize  same-sex  marriage.
3. The first referee to stop a match  with a whistle is a Kiwi.
4. The largest  one-day yachting  event in the world takes place in New Zealand.
5. There are over 400 public and private  golf courses in New Zealand  .
6. Pharmaceutical companies in New Zealand have  a public advertising license.
7. New Zealand has  the ninth  longest coastline in the world.
8. New Zealand was the first modern country to ever appoint  an official national wizard.
9. In New Zealand, children start school at  age 5.
10. Lorde,  songwriter and performer of the award-winning song “Royals”, was born  in New Zealand.
11. The record for the  heaviest insect  in the world belongs to the New Zealand  wet beetle.
12. The average shelf life of New Zealand eels is  80 years.
13. The roofs of New Zealand caves are home to  glow worms  and fungus gnat larvae.
14. In New Zealand we find  44 native reptile species  .
15. Some of NASA’s space program achievements are the result of the efforts of   Kiwi astrophysicist Dr William Pickering .
16. Kiwi Dame Kiri Te Kanawa performed at  the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1981.
17. Famous New Zealand directors include  Jane Campion and Peter Jackson.
18. The kiwi is  a flightless bird endemic to New Zealand.
19. Besides the kiwi,  the moa  is another species of flightless bird in New Zealand.
20. New Zealand high schools and universities are permitted to store  a pound of uranium or thorium  .
21. The famous  Pavlova  is a dessert originally from New Zealand.
22. In New Zealand there is a special drink called  ” Sobering Thought  “.
23. Despite popular belief,  kiwis are not native to New Zealand  .
24. The Lord of the Rings films   contributed approximately $200 million to the New Zealand economy.

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1. The giant predatory  snail  lives on the south island of New Zealand.
2.  The world’s smallest sea  dolphin lives in New Zealand waters.
3. Ships sailing in New Zealand waters are guided by the famous dolphin.
4. The most  common language  in New Zealand is  English  .
5. English is spoken by  96.14%  of the country’s population.
6. New Zealand has  two national anthems.
7. New Zealand is the only country that is legally allowed to have  Hobbit-related images on its currency  .
8. The tallest free-standing formation in  the Southern Hemisphere  is in New Zealand.
9. New Zealand’s largest source of fresh water is  Te Waikoropupu.
10. The Dunedin clock dates back to  1864.
11. There are railway tracks running down the middle of the runway at Gisborne Airport in New Zealand  .
12. In 2001, the predominant religion in New Zealand was  the Jedi.
13. Te Toho Rock in New Zealand is featured in the famous English film  The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian  .
14. New Zealand’s national sport is  rugby.
15. New Zealand’s oldest organized sport is  cricket  .

We’re only missing 10 out of 100 interesting facts about New Zealand!  Don’t forget to check out  the New Zealand Excellence Awards (NZEA)  !

1. More people live in Auckland  than in the entire South Island.
2. The Royal New Zealand Air Force logo features   the flightless Kiwi bird.
3. Kiwi  was originally known in New Zealand as Chinese gooseberry.
4. Ninety Mile Beach is actually only  90 km long  .
5. The man who  pioneered plastic surgery  , Harold Gillies, was a Kiwi.
6. In 2008, Tuatara Henry  became a father for the first time at the age of 111. (The tuatara is a reptile of New Zealand origin.)
7. 15% of New Zealand’s population is  Maori.
8. New Zealand is similar in size  to the UK,  but has a population of around 4 million (compared to the UK’s 63 million).
9. About a third of the country is  protected national park.
10. New Zealand was named the best country in the world in 2007 and 2008 by Wanderlust magazine.
11. Japan has more  vending machines  than the entire population of New Zealand.

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So here we conclude with 100 interesting and exciting facts about  New Zealand  . It was quite a long list. Isn’t it? We hope you all must have enjoyed knowing about these previously unknown interesting facts about New Zealand. Interested in studying in New Zealand? Contact our  Leverage Edu  experts and they will guide you through choosing the right program and university, and throughout the application process to ensure you are successfully shortlisted! Sign up for a free session today!