New Zealand

New Zealand is a country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two large islands (the North Island and the South Island) and numerous smaller islands. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue, which are self-governing but in free association; Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica).

New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation, being separated from Australia to the northwest by the Tasman Sea, approximately 2000 kilometers across. Its closest neighbors to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga.

The population is mostly of European descent, with the indigenous Māori being the largest minority. Non-Māori Polynesian and Asian people are also significant minorities, especially in the cities.

The first settlers of New Zealand were Eastern Polynesians sometime between around AD 800 and 1300. Over the next few centuries these settlers developed into a distinct culture now known as Māori. The first Europeans reached New Zealand in 1642. The British government claimed sovereignty and negotiate a treaty with Māori in 1840. In 1854 the 1st New Zealand Parliament moved the country towards limited self-government. By the late nineteenth century it was fully self governing in most senses. New Zealand became a fully independent nation in 1947, although in practice Britain had ceased to play any real role in the government of New Zealand much earlier than this.