New Zealand

OceaniaCapital city: WellingtonCapital metro: WellingtonMost important metro: AucklandPrime Minister: Christopher Luxon
2026 population
5.3M
Rank #126 globally
Area
270k km² (104k sq mi)
Metros tracked
9
70% of population in metros
Composite score
52.1
Rank #46 globally
At a glance
Official languages
English, New Zealand Sign Language, Māori
Currency
New Zealand dollar ($)
Government
Parliamentary monarchy
Legislature
New Zealand Parliament
Demonym
New Zealand
Time zones
UTC+12:00, UTC+13:00
Driving side
Left
Calling code
+64
Internet TLD
.nz
ISO 3166
NZ
Established
1841
Highest point
Aoraki / Mount Cook (3,724 m (12,218 ft))
National anthem
God Defend New Zealand

Facts via Wikidata.

Economy and developmentHigh income
Human Dev. Index
#17 / 192
0.938
World Bank · 2023
GDP
#52 / 194
$264.1B
World Bank · 2025
GDP per capita
#25 / 194
$49.6k
World Bank · 2025
GDP/capita (PPP)
#35 / 191
$55.6k
World Bank · 2024
GNI/capita (Atlas)
#25 / 193
$46.6k
World Bank · 2025
Life expectancy
#29 / 195
82.0 yrs
World Bank · 2024
Median age
37.3 yrs
World Bank · 2023
Urban population
#34 / 195
84%
World Bank · 2025
Pop. growth
0.7%
World Bank · 2025
Pop. density
#165 / 194
20/km²
World Bank · 2023
Foreign-born
#18 / 194
28.2%
World Bank · 2024
Rule of law
#6 / 175
0.99
World Bank · 2025
Internet users
#36 / 194
94%
World Bank · 2024
Inflation
#86 / 186
2.8%
World Bank · 2025

Ranks are among sovereign countries with data; ★ marks a top-5% finish. Sources: World Bank Open Data and Our World in Data (UNDP, UN, V-Dem; CC BY 4.0). Each figure is the most recent year available.

Alliances & Organisations4 full memberships

Political & Economic

Full memberDashed border = Candidate / ApplicantItalic = Dialogue / Observer

Leadership History55 leaders · click to expand

Christopher Luxon✦ Current

2023Present

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2y 8m 3dNational

Chris Hipkins

20232023

Prime Minister

Tenure: 9m 5dLabour

Jacinda Ardern

20172023

Prime Minister

Tenure: 5y 3m 2dLabour

Bill English

20162017

Prime Minister

Tenure: 10m 18dNational

John Key

20082016

Prime Minister

Tenure: 8y 25dNational

Helen Clark

19992008

Prime Minister

Tenure: 8y 11m 17dLabour

Jenny Shipley

19971999

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2y 2dNational

Jim Bolger

19901997

Prime Minister

Tenure: 7y 8dNational

Mike Moore

19901990

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2m 29dLabour

Geoffrey Palmer

19891990

Prime Minister

Tenure: 1y 27dLabour

David Lange

19841989

Prime Minister

Tenure: 5y 14dLabour

Robert Muldoon

19751984

Prime Minister

Tenure: 8y 7m 19dNational

Bill Rowling

19741975

Prime Minister

Tenure: 1y 3m 13dLabour

Norman Kirk

19721974

Prime Minister

Tenure: 1y 8m 26dLabour

Jack Marshall

19721972

Prime Minister

Tenure: 10m 5dNational

Keith Holyoake

19601972

Prime Minister

Tenure: 11y 5mNational

Walter Nash

19571960

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2y 9m 5dLabour

Keith Holyoake

19571957

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2m 23dNational

Sidney Holland

19491957

Prime Minister

Tenure: 7y 9m 13dNational

Peter Fraser

19401949

Prime Minister

Tenure: 9y 8m 23dLabour

Michael Joseph Savage

19351940

Prime Minister

Tenure: 4y 3m 23dLabour

George Forbes

19301935

Prime Minister

Tenure: 5y 6m 13dUnited

Joseph Ward

19281930

Prime Minister

Tenure: 1y 9m 21dLiberal/United

Gordon Coates

19251928

Prime Minister

Tenure: 3y 1m 12dReform

Francis Bell

19251925

Prime Minister

Tenure: 1m 21dReform

William Massey

19121925

Prime Minister

Tenure: 12y 10m 7dReform

Thomas Mackenzie

19121912

Prime Minister

Tenure: 12dLiberal

Joseph Ward

19061912

Prime Minister

Tenure: 6y 19dLiberal

William Hall-Jones

19061906

Prime Minister

Tenure: 1dLiberal

Richard Seddon

18931906

Prime Minister

Tenure: 13y 1m 12dLiberal

John Ballance

18911893

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2y 3m 4dLiberal

Harry Atkinson

18871891

Prime Minister

Tenure: 3y 12m 2dNo party

Robert Stout

18841887

Prime Minister

No party

Harry Atkinson

18841884

Prime Minister

Tenure: 1m 13dNo party

Robert Stout

18841884

Prime Minister

Tenure: 4m 21dNo party

Harry Atkinson

18831884

Prime Minister

Tenure: 9m 16dNo party

Frederick Whitaker

18821883

Prime Minister

No party

John Hall

18791882

Prime Minister

No party

George Grey

18771879

Prime Minister

No party

Harry Atkinson

18761877

Prime Minister

Tenure: 8mNo party

Julius Vogel

18761876

Prime Minister

Tenure: 7m 3dNo party

Daniel Pollen

18751876

Prime Minister

Tenure: 6m 4dNo party

Julius Vogel

18731875

Prime Minister

No party

William Fox

18731873

Prime Minister

Tenure: 1mNo party

George Waterhouse

18721873

Prime Minister

Tenure: 1yNo party

Edward Stafford

18721872

Prime Minister

Tenure: 0dNo party

William Fox

18691872

Prime Minister

No party

Edward Stafford

18661869

Prime Minister

No party

Frederick Weld

18641866

Prime Minister

No party

Frederick Whitaker

18631864

Prime Minister

Tenure: 1y 19dNo party

Alfred Domett

18621863

Prime Minister

Tenure: 1y 1m 9dNo party

William Fox

18611862

Prime Minister

Tenure: 10m 22dNo party

Edward Stafford

18561861

Prime Minister

Tenure: 5y 4m 13dNo party

William Fox

18561856

Prime Minister

Tenure: 13dNo party

Henry Sewell

18561856

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2m 14dNo party
Power over timeThe Power Atlas →
Today
Minor#43 · 0.4%
3%5%8%10%19502000
Power (headline share)Latent (material mass)Recognised (standing)
New Zealand · share of world power, 1920–2026

The powerline is the headline share of world power, running from the state’s first ranked year (benchmark estimates with wide error bars before 1816). Latent power is material mass a state could mobilise (population, manpower, heavy industry). Recognised power is what the system actually treats it as (military spending, productive economy, reach, and status such as a Security Council seat or nuclear arsenal). When latent runs above recognised, a power is rising or under-rated; when recognised runs higher, it is punching above its weight or coasting on prestige. Material sub-indices run 1816 through 2016.

Conflicts since 19453 interstate wars · click to expand
Vietnam War1965–1973
North Vietnam,FNL,Khmer Rouge,Khmer Issarak,Pathet Lao,China,North Korea,Soviet Union
Combat deaths: 1,326,494–3,447,494
Combat deaths: 874+
North Korea,China,Soviet Union
Combat deaths: 2,568,927–4,096,927

Bold = principal belligerent. Source: Wikipedia, “List of interstate wars since 1945.”

Billionaires4 · $18.4B combined · click to expand
Finance & InvestmentsPackaging
TechnologySpacecrafts
Finance & InvestmentsInvestments
Media & EntertainmentMovies, digital effects

Source: Forbes real-time billionaires (via the rtb-api project). Net worth as of the latest monthly snapshot.

National Teams

New Zealand on the international stage. Click a card for the full record.

League Hubs

Domestic league portals that operate in New Zealand: 3 leagues.

Constituents and territories

3 entries listed under New Zealand. Click any to see its own metros.

Administrative subdivisions

17 entries listed under New Zealand across 2 types. Click any to see its metros and footprint.

Territories (1)

New Zealand metro footprint

9 metros
Loading map…
9 polygons

Polygons shaded by composite tier. Hover for rank, click to open the metro page. Boundaries derived from Overture Maps administrative divisions; metros without source coverage are omitted.

9 tracked metros