New Zealand

The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.

Economical characteristics

• Currency: New Zealand dollar (ISO code: NZD)
• Central bank discount rate: 2.5% (31 December 2009)
• Commercial banks lending rate: 10.39% (31 December 2009 )
• Stock of money (M1): $20.17 billion (31 December 2008)
• Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $81.01 billion (31 December 2008)

Statistics

Statistic / Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
GDP (USD)
Govt. debt (% of GDP)
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)			34.161	34.488	35.577	35.626	37.341	38.438	37.110
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)
Debt to revenue (years)

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

External links

• New Zealand on Wikipedia
• Central bank of New Zealand
• BBC country profile
• Rolling Back Government: Lessons from New Zealand (pdf), by Maurice P. McTigue, February 2004