nz

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses called the North Island and the South Island. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand, Aotearoa commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud. New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation: it is situated about 2000 km (1250 miles) southeast of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and its closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. The population of New Zealand is mostly of European descent, Asians, Maori and Pacific Islanders (in that order). Political power is held by the democratically elected Parliament of New Zealand under the leadership of the Prime Minister (John Key), who is the head of government.