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Comparable in size and/or shape to Great Britain, Colorado or Japan, New Zealand has a population of only 3.8 million - making it one of the world's least crowded countries.

New Zealand is an independent nation and a member of the British Commonwealth. It has a diverse multi-cultural population, the majority of whom are of British descent. New Zealand's indigenous Maori make up around 14 percent of the population.

The Maori were New Zealand's first settlers. They made an epic journey from the legendary Hawaiki, probably in Polynesia to the north of New Zealand, about 1000 years ago. The great explorer Kupe, who legend says first discovered New Zealand, named the new land Aotearoa - Land of the Long White Cloud. The first documented European to discover New Zealand was Dutch navigator Abel Tasman, who came in 1642 in search of the fabled great southern continent. Over a 125 years later, Captain James Cook claimed it for Britain in 1769 and produced a map of the country.

New Zealand has a mixed economy with sizable manufacturing and service sectors complementing a highly efficient export-oriented agricultural sector. The economy is strongly trade-oriented, with exports of goods and services accounting for around 32% of total output. New Zealand’s economic performance has improved significantly over the 1990s.

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Women in politics
Women and minorities are accorded full opportunity to participate in political life, but remain underrepresented in government. However, the remarkable thing is women hold all the top public positions in this small South Pacific nation. These include Governor-General (Silvia Cartwright), Prime Minister (Helen Clark), Chief Justice (Sian Elias), and Attorney-general (Margaret Wilson).

The "new girl's network," as some have called it, also reaches into commerce - its most notable member being Theresa Gattung, chief executive at Telecom, the country's biggest corporation.

In the 120-member Parliament, 36 seats are held by women. The Executive Council has 26 ministers (20 within the Cabinet and 6 outside the Cabinet) including 11 women. The Cabinet has seven women holding Cabinet portfolios such as Health; Art, Culture and Heritage; Conservation; and Local Government among others.

Women are underrepresented in government in the dependent territories of the Cook Islands, Tokelau, and Niue. Of the 25 members of the Cook Islands Parliament, 2 are women. In Niue, 2 of 20 are women.

New Zealand was the first nation in the world to give women the vote, in 1893, 15 years after it became the first country in the old British empire to award a bachelor's degree to a female university student.

In 1986, the Labor Party government of the time established the Ministry of Women's Affairs, a state-funded agency responsible for promoting legislation and policies aimed at bettering the lives of women and raising their general status. Although initially derided by many conservatives - one leading National Party MP, Ruth Richardson, declared at the time that she and her colleagues would never accept "that there are a range of issues that can be tagged 'women's issues' and pigeon-holed in a ministry" - the agency today enjoys bipartisan support and is widely credited with having feminized the policymaking process. Its behind-the-scenes influence is said to have played an important role in setting the stage for today's all-female cast on New Zealand's top government posts.

More on the situation on women in New Zealand in this report. Also visit the Ministry of Women's Affairs page.


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Important political facts

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Women in politics
Important political facts
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