New Zealand gets a lot of attention on the world stage, especially lately, in relation to how the current New Zealand government handled the Covid pandemic. For a small place, New Zealand has had a fair bit of international coverage.
This is all the more impressive when you consider how small New Zealand actually is. It wouldn’t fill most American States, or Canadian provinces. Plus it’s an island country with a tiny population. And it’s in the middle of nowhere, floating like a wee lost raft stocked with sheep and hokey pokey ice cream lost in the South Pacific Ocean.
The country is made up of two main islands (North Island / Te Ika-a-Māui and the South Island / Te Waipounamu) and more than 650 small islands. Other significant, and inhabited, islands in New Zealand are Stewart Island to the south, and the Chatham Islands to the east.
We’ve looked up your most commonly asked questions about the size of New Zealand, and come up with some stats.
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How big is New Zealand?
Aotearoa New Zealand covers about 268,838 square kilometres. The United States is more than 3500% larger than New Zealand, with a landmass that measures almost 10,000,000 square kilometres. (Yes, that is 10 million.)
How many people live in New Zealand?
According to Stats NZ, the population of Aotearoa New Zealand was 5.12 million as of June 2022. That’s the “team of five million” the Prime Minister is always referring to.
Countries with similar populations include Norway, Oman, Ireland, Croatia and Mauritania.
The population of the United States is about 340,000,000, making it the third most populous country in the world. Good thing they have a lot of space.
How big is New Zealand’s North Island?
The North Island / Te Ika-a-Māui covers about 114,000 square kilometres. It’s 1900 kilometres long and it’s skinny – the island is only 400 kilometres across at its widest point.
Most of New Zealand’s population lives on the North Island, which has nearly four million residents. That’s three quarters of the country’s population.
Fun fact: New Zealand’s North Island is the 14th largest island in the world.
How big is New Zealand’s South Island?
New Zealand’s South Island / Te Waipounamu has a land mass of about 150,000 square kilometres, and they are pretty empty. Just one million people live on the South Island, most of them to the west of the Southern Alps, which run the length of the island.
Bordered by the Tasman sea on its west coast, and the Pacific Ocean to the east, the South Island of New Zealand is the 12th largest island on earth.
What country is the same size as New Zealand ?
When it comes to acreage (or kilometre-age, if that’s a thing), New Zealand is comparable to Italy.
How big is New Zealand’s economy?
Currently, New Zealand has a GDP of $355 billion (that $ represents the New Zealand dollar), which is relatively large in relation to its population.
How does the size of New Zealand compare to American states?
There are a lot of questions online about New Zealand’s size compared to specific American states. Here are some of the most common ones.
What US state is the size of New Zealand?
New Zealand is about the same size as Colorado. From a geographic and climatic point of view, Colorado has a lot in common with the South Island – especially when it comes to mountains and skiing.
Is New Zealand bigger than California?
New Zealand is not bigger than California. California covers a bit more than 400,000 square kilometres, making New Zealand about two thirds of the size of the state.
Population-wise, New Zealand doesn’t even come close – Cali has almost 40 million residents. Los Angeles alone has about four million, the same as the entire North Island, and four times as many as South Island / Te Waipounamu.
How many New Zealands can you fit in Texas?
This is a bit of a random one, but it comes up a lot, so we’ll bite. You could fit 2.5 New Zealands inside the state of Texas.
