is one of the quieter, more collected countries in the world. With few major international

disputes, and a strong peacekeeping force, the small collection of islands is somewhat

isolated outside of their relations with Australia and the Pacific Islands. So, how powerful

is New Zealand?

To start, New Zealand is actually made up of two islands, respectively called North

and South Island, along with a handful of surrounding, smaller islands too. Most of

New Zealand’s four and a half million residents live on North Island, with nearly a third

in the city of Auckland (AWk-lend). But in total, New Zealand covers only about 100,000

square miles. That’s roughly the same size as Colorado, but with about a million fewer

residents. Due to it’s remote location in the southwestern Pacific, New Zealand was

actually one of the last areas in the world to be populated by humans, meaning that their

history only goes back to the 13th century.

Although New Zealand has a relatively low GDP of less than 200 billion, ranking them

54th in the world, their quality of life is great. It holds the seventh highest Human

Development score, and an average life expectancy of 83 years for women and 79.5 years for men.

Economically, New Zealand used to be famous for it’s wool exports, but today, they’ve

shifted primarily to exporting dairy, meat, and wood. In fact, they are one of the top

milk producers in the world.

New Zealand doesn’t really have a lot of money to spend on their military, so they

only spend about 1% of their GDP on defense. But due to their remote location and membership

in a number of international groups, they’re not especially worried about being attacked.

Their military is more so used in UN peacekeeping. In 2014 they were ranked the world’s 4th

most peaceful country. New Zealand also gets major points for their

political stability. Although they are still technically presided over by the Queen of

England, their parliamentary democracy has been called one of the world’s best, most

transparent, and least corrupt. Additionally, with nearly 80% voter turnout in their 2008

elections, they have some of the highest levels of civic participation.

However, despite New Zealand’s enlightened status, they’re not totally free of problems.

New Zealand’s population suffers from the fourth highest rate of cancer, and is the

third most overweight in the world. But despite following a high-income lifestyle of inactivity,

New Zealand tends to score pretty high everywhere else. So, how powerful is New Zealand? In

terms of global effect, not very, but in terms of quality of life, they’re extremely powerful.

New Zealand has a really interesting story, that many people don’t know about. If you’re

interested in learning what the country would be like had it never been colonized, make

sure you check out this awesome video from our friends at Alternate History Hub. Thanks

as always for watching TestTube! See you next time.