Part of the country series of articles.
TRAVEL ADVISORY: NORMAL PRECAUTIONSThe Commonwealth advises travellers to exercise normal precautions when travelling in this country. Travellers should familiarise themselves with local laws and customs and consular availability.
| Dominion of New Zealand | |
|---|---|
| Constitutional Monarchy | |
 |
|
| Capital | Wellington |
| Languages | English, MΔori |
| Population | 4,200,000 |
New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy in the southern Pacific, prosperous, agricultural and in no great hurry about either. It trades primarily within the Commonwealth and with Australia, on which it depends considerably for manufactured goods, financial services and strategic cover. The relationship suits both parties well enough that neither examines it too closely.
The country is overwhelmingly rural in character despite its small cities, and its economy runs on wool, dairy, lamb and timber shipped to Commonwealth markets. It has not industrialised to the degree Australia has and seems broadly unbothered by this. New Zealand is a comfortable and somewhat shaggy place, and its people tend to regard ambition on the Australian scale as more trouble than it is worth.