User:Andymilson/NewZealandSandbox

Drafting ideas and possible data or information for article from sources given on blackboard
Population Geography section:

Include reference to population pyramid and talk about why is it shaped like it is. What type of economy does it represent. .

Include referenced to population density (2 kinds). Why is it like this?

Look for information on topics covered in class such of race and racism, geography of popular and folk culture and information about landscape geography on how housing and how the land was developed from where. Who influenced it. Add section on cultural geography.

Don't see much on languages, religion, artifacts or sacred places which would be good areas to research.

CIA World Factbook has large amount or recent economic data and looks like some other data as well. I will note some important information in the next couple of days.

International Monetary Fund: has a country data graph of real GDP growth and inflation rate, average consumer prices (2018). New Zealand's economy has shown development since 2011 according to New Zealand : 2018 Article IV Consultation – Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for New Zealand

To put somewhere, maybe in health?: New Zealand is ranked 15 in life expectancy, with a total life expectancy of 82.2.

Other information that I found on Britannica encyclopedia (not sure if this source can be used). Was going to to search under Britannica Academic instead since I think that is an acceptable source but it requires an academic username and password. I'll have to email them to find out how to access it.

New Zealand is located at the southwestern edge of Polynesia. It's capital is Wellington and is the second largest metro area of New Zealand, located in at the southwestern tip of the North island New Zealand. New Zealand has a claim in Antarctica through the Ross Dependency of 1923 and was part of the Antarctic Treaty that was signed in 1959 by 11 other nations.

'''Note: I noticed as I was double checking that some of the stats in the CIA's The World Factbook have changed. Some of the stats have moved over to 2018 now. The numbers on world ranking that I put in for imports and exports under Economic Geography are now slightly different.'''

Language
English is the major spoken language, with 89.8 percent. This is likely attributed to the significant European population of 71.2 percent. The second language is Maori, or Te Reo, with only 3.5 percent. This is an Eastern Polynesian language, the indigenous language of New Zealand. Although the number of Maori speakers has declined significantly over time, and Maori is now considered to be an endangered language, Maori is still taught in some schools across the country. Two percent of the population speaks Samoan, one of the country's largest minority groups, due to Samoa's close proximity to New Zealand. Hindi speakers make up 1.6 percent of the population, 1.2 percent speaks French, 1.2 percent speaks Northern Chinese, and 1 percent speaks Yue. New Zealand also has their own unique version of sign language, called New Zealand Sign Language, or NZSL, which is an official language of New Zealand, along with English and Maori.

Religion
New Zealand does not have an official religion. However, Christians makes up 44.3 percent of the population, making Christianity the most common religion. The second largest group are those who do not identify with any religion, which is 38.5 percent, more than one-third of the population, and more than twenty-two percent of the world average. Almost half of all Kiwis do not associate with any religion, this decline beginning in the 1990's and rapidly declining since then. Also, people associating with other religions, such as, Hinduism has been slowly increasing as a result of immigration. As of 2013, Hinduism has the second most followers of any religion in New Zealand. Majority of Indians resided in Auckland as of 2006. Auckland, the most populated city in New Zealand, is the most religious, but the topography of religious affiliation is being limited to Remuera and the North Shore. Studies also show that teenagers are much more religious than the older population, and that migrants to New Zealand are much more religious than natives. Twice as many New Zealanders identified themselves as being non religious compared to the United States (2007). There are not many sacred sites in New Zealand but the Tongariro National Park was a place that the Maori's considered sacred including the sacred Ngati Tuwharetoa Mountain.

Popular Culture and Folk Culture
The Trilogy Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand and consequently has helped boost tourism revenues, an example of the effect of pop culture. Research in folklore has never been very popular in New Zealand. The New Zealand Folklore Society (NZFS) was the main organization that did research but didn't achieve much international attention and was only an amateur organization from 1966 through the mid 70's.  Research on folklore has primarily been involved with Maori traditions and produced by part-time amateur scholars. Folklore boomed in Britain, the U.S, and Australia in the mid to late '60's which also became popular with New Zealand's youth, ie, a small folk music scene developed in Wellington. Coffee shops, such as, the Monde Marie and the Balladeer Coffee Tavern were the main venues were music was performed. Known artists were the Kingston Trio, Clancy Brothers and Bob Dylan. NZFS collected songs, music and other folklore and tried to make non-Maori folklore known. Fyfe, an immigrant from Australia, was very influential in the administration of the folklore scene in New Zealand. Fieldwork was the main method of research.

Economic Geography
New Zealand has gone from an agrarian to a more developed, post-industrial country in the last 40 years with an improving GDP per capita (PPP) which was 48th in the world, $38,900, as of 2017. GDP - per capita (PPP) is the average output per person on a purchasing power parity basis, meaning it's valued at US prices. The unemployment rate is fairly low at 4.9% (2017), which is a little higher than the US's 4.4% for the same year, while dropping .2% from the previous year. The services sector made up the largest part of the GDP at 72.8% in 2017 followed by industry at 21.5% and agriculture at 5.7%. Other indicators of New Zealand having a post-industrialized society are discussed below.

Some of the major industries are agriculture, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining, construction, financial services and tourism. The largest part of the labor force resides in services with 73.1%, followed by industry, 20.23%, and agriculture at 6.64%. This is more similar to countries that are developed, such as, the US which has 79.45% of it's labor force in services, 18.89% in industry and 1.66% in agriculture and Great Britain's 82.53% in the services sector, 18.36% in industry and 1.11% in agriculture. The labor force in the services sector of New Zealand's economy has been on a slight upward trend increasing about 3% between 2007 and 2017 compared to an increase of about 6% in the UK and less than 1% in the US.

Imports and exports were very similar in world ranking at 58 and 55, respectively, having both increased from the previous year. Major imports are petroleum and products, mechanical machinery, vehicles and parts, electrical machinery and textiles. Exports are dairy products, meat and edible offal, logs and wood articles, fruit, crude oil and wine. China, Australia, U.S. and Japan were the largest 4 trading partners in both exports and imports with China being the biggest trading partner in merchandise trade since 2013. New Zealand ranks 21 in the world in budget surplus, 1.6% of GDP, compared to the US ranking of 145 with a budget deficit of 3.4% of GDP (2017). It is 3rd on the 2018 Index of Economic Freedom with an economic freedom score of 84.2 with trade being a very important part of New Zealand's economy making up 55% of the GDP.

It's fertility rate of 2.01 (world ranking 116) is below the replacement level of 2.1. This is higher than in the US and UK which are about 1.88 but much lower than Niger with the highest fertility rate of 6.49 in the world (2017). The Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.917 putting it at 16th in the world in 2018 according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). HDI is an indicator of a nations longevity, education and income.

Another statistic that is similar to the United States is the percentage of the population that is urban, 86.5%, compared to the US's 82.6% urbanization (2018) and a higher annual rate change of urbanization of 1.01% compared to 0.95% in the US between 2015 and 2020. India, a country at the other end of the spectrum is 34% urbanized but has a higher annual rate of change of urbanization of 2.37% for the same years. These comparisons may indicate that New Zealand is a more recently post-industrialized country compared to the US but is much closer to that end of the spectrum than say India which is still developing indicated by it's much higher rate of urbanization.

New Zealand has a high education rate based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with 76% of people between the ages of 25-65 having at least secondary education ranking 12th of 30 countries which is above the average of 65% and according to OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment it ranks 7th in literacy rate for OECD countries. It was 15th in world literacy according to a study done by John M. Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University according to an article written in March of 2016 in the NZ Herald placing it just above Australia and the UK.

The country has 100% improved drinking water source, 100% electricity access and 88.5% of population have internet access placing it 88th in the world (2016). Though, according to an article written by Jason Walls in interest.co.nz New Zealand has a large infrastructure deficit and the government is looking for private funding to help fund projects because the current infrastructure is outdated and falling behind because of significant population growth.

Despite the well-developed road systems, the highly mountainous and brittle terrain of New Zealand has discouraged long-distance road travel, leading to a spike in air travel.

New Zealand has an estimated total nominal GDP of $161.8 billion.

New Zealand participates greatly in many independent trade routes. They rely heavily on trade routes in order to keep their GDP increasing.

Free-Trade Agreements
One of New Zealand's older and more successful free-trade agreements is the Closer Economic Relationship (CER), established between Australia and New Zealand in 1983. New Zealand has three Closer Economic Partnership agreements (CEPs), the first with Singapore, established in 2001, and the others with Thailand in 2005 and Hong Kong in 2011. Aside from that, they have three other current Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), the first with China in 2008, and the others with Malaysia in 2009 and Korea in 2014. New Zealand was the second country to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in May 2017. After the US pulled out it became the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on November, 10, 2017.

Infrastructure
Due to the many mountains and rivers found in New Zealand, the infrastructure is not well equipped. New Zealand faces many challenges when it comes to building new roads and railways.

Road Network
New Zealand consists of 6,835 miles of state highway between the northern and southern island. These roads were built and managed by the the NZ Transport Agency and are paid for from taxes. If someone uses these roads a lot they must pay Road User Chargers as well because there is limited use of tolling on the state highways. There is also 51,573 miles of roads built and maintained by local authorities.

Railway Network
The railway network is owned by state owned enterprise KiwiRail and is made up of 2478 miles of railway line. The many rivers they have generate the hydroelectricity for these railways.

Airways
There are seven international airports and twenty-eight domestic airports. Their airline is called Air New Zealand. 52% is government owned. Airways New Zealand runs the state owned enterprise and provides state traffic control.

Seaports
New Zealand uses their seaports for majority of their imports and exports. There are 14 international seaports.

Telecommunications
New Zealand has many usages of cellphone towers and internet. This is very common in the OECD. The major cable network is called Chorus Limited, which provides most of their cable. On the side of telephones there are three operators: Spark, 2degrees and Vodafone.

Population Geography
New Zealand is the 126th most populated country in the world with approximately 4.76 million people (2018). It's population pyramid is similar to what many developed countries have with the largest percentage of males being in the 45 to 54 range with the largest percentage females being in the 45 to 49 range. It has a population growth rate of 0.79% (2017) making it the 132nd fasted growing country in the world. It's growth rate has been in decline since 2005, thus, which is a characteristic of a developed country. Contemporary New Zealand has a majority of people of European origin, a significant minority of Maori, and smaller numbers of people from Pacific islands and Asia. In the early 21st century, Asians were the fastest-growing demographic group.

Population growth is majorly attributed to increasing immigration, due to New Zealand's employment opportunities, leading to many disputes over immigration control.

Ethnic Groups
Polynesians were the first to settle New Zealand, which at the time, was completely uninhabited by humans, due to it's physical isolation, and underdeveloped sea travel at the time. The Polynesian population grew slightly until Europeans discovered it in the 17th century. Maori, meaning "normal," became the knew name for the Polynesians. Europeans eventually dominated the demographic scope, resulting in a 67.6 percent European population today, with only a 14.6 percent Maori population. Chinese and other Asians make up 9.2 percent of the population, and Pacific Islanders make up 6.9 percent, a large portion of those being Samoans, due to Samoa's close proximity to New Zealand.

Population Density
New Zealand is moderately populated with an average of 4 million people, comparatively to Iceland, Norway, and Finland. New Zealand has an area of 271,000 square kilometers and averages 15 people per square kilometers. New Zealand population density is relatively low and mainly located in the two most urbanized cities Auckland and Wellington. Auckland currently holds a quarter of the total population with 1.5 million citizens and Wellington holds 490,000.

Fertility rate
New Zealand women are having less and less babies as the country continues to develop. New Zealand averaged 1.81 births per women in 2017, being the lowest recorded level in the country. For the country to maintain its population women need to average 2.1 births in their lifetime, So the replacement level in New Zealand can be met. Currently New Zealand is not meeting the replacement level. The country has cut down more then half on teen pregnancy rates when comparing to 2008 and currently continuing to lower the number. In 1961, New Zealand was at its peak with 4.31 births per women and comparatively much different then today.

Death rate
In 2016 the annual average number was 6.64/1000 population in 2016. In New Zealand 7.5 deaths/1000 population was the annual average number in 2017. In one year there was an .86 increase in deaths per 1000 population, this is mainly because older people are starting to die.

Rate of natural increase:
In 2015, New Zealand's rate of natural increase was 6.46 persons per 1,000 population. New Zealand's rate of natural increase in 1966 was 14.82 and continued to fall gradually to 6.46.

Physiological density
New zealand's population density is 107 people per square kilometer of arable land. Showing that New zealand's numbers are less than half the OECD average and only larger than Australia, iceland,and canada.

Agricultural Geography
Agriculture is New Zealand's largest industry, and makes up about two-thirds of their trade economy. As the world's largest exporter of sheep, New Zealand's agricultural industry focuses primarily on pastoral farming, particularly dairy and beef, as well as lambs. Dairy, specifically, is their top export. In addition to pastoral farming, fisherman harvest mussels, oysters and salmon, and horticulture farmers grow kiwifruit, as well as peaches, nectarines, etc. New Zealand is part of the the Cairns Group, an agricultural coalition, which is accredited for over 25 percent of the world's total agricultural exports.

The percentage of the workforce employed in the agriculture industry has been continuously decreasing over the last decade, only 6.64 percent as of 2017, about half the size of the United States' sector.

As of 2007, almost 55 percent of New Zealand's total land area was being used for farming, which is standard compared to most developed countries. Three-fourths of it was pastoral land using for raising sheep, beef, deer, etc. The amount of farmland has decreased since 2002.

A major concern for New Zealand farmers is the rapidly growing wild rabbit population. Wild rabbits have been an agricultural issue for a while, since their introduction to the country in the 1930's. They cause significant damage to farm lands: eating the grass, crops, and causing soil degradation. Many farmers are worried about their livelihoods and the effects that the rabbits will have on food supply and trade, as their numbers are quickly growing out of control. An illegal rabbit-killing virus called the Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV) was released in 1997 by a group of vigilante farmers, and was very effective initially. After twenty years, however, the rabbits became immune to it. To help desperate farmers, a new strain of the virus was released in March of 2018, a Korean form of the strain called the K5 virus, or RHDV1-K5. The goal of this virus is to exterminate 40 percent of the rabbit population. The new virus works much faster than the last one, expected to kill rabbits within two to four days of exposure. The virus has become a subject of debate among animal rights activists, due to the inhumane manner in which it kills the rabbits. However, farmers unanimously seem to be very grateful for the release of the virus.

Almost half of New Zealand's climate change emissions are generated by greenhouse gases, mainly methane and nitrous oxide, which come from farming and agriculture. Organisms that grow inside of grazing animals' stomachs turn New Zealand's grass into methane. The increase of carbon dioxide in the air helps the plants to grow faster, but the long-term effects of climate change threaten farmers with the likelihood of more frequent and severe floods and droughts. Growers of kiwifruit, a major export in the horticulture industry of New Zealand, have experienced difficulties as a result of climate change. The recent warm winters are not providing the adequate cool temperatures needed for the flowering of kiwifruit, and has resulted in a reduction of the yield sizes. The recent droughts are also decreasing apple production by causing sunburns and a lack of water available for irrigation. In contrast, the dairy industry has not been affected, and has actually adjusted well to the effects of climate change.

New Zealand's heavy rainfall and temperate climate are ideal for the large forests which cover about two-thirds of the country's total land area.This naturally gives rise to a significant amount of timber, which the Asia-Pacific Islands rely on for the majority of their wood.

Climate change is expected to effect the North Island much more significantly than the South Island. Temperatures are expected to rise by two to four degrees Celsius, and the amount of winter rainfall is expected to increase as well.

Recently, the New Zealand government has discontinued subsidies to farmers, which has actually cut costs, and has improved efficiency, profits and products.

Political Geography
Relations with Australia could be tender due to Australia's new immigration policy, which imposes stricter requirements and a higher standard of "character" for migrants. The new immigration policy has lead to a surge in deportations of New Zealander's, disproportionately those of Maori descent, which make up for 60 percent of the deportees. Due to the difficulty and expenses of transporting so many immigrants overseas, the deportees sit in detention centers for long periods of time and are mistreated and ignored. New Zealand migrants move to Australia to seek better pay for low-skilled jobs, and to benefit from Australia's universal healthcare system. Between 2009 and 2016, Australia saw a 42 percent increase in New Zealand-born prisoners. The high crime and poverty rates of New Zealand migrants in Australia has lead to tension and disputes. However, Australia's new immigration policy has upset many New Zealanders because of mistreatment of the detainees and the high numbers of deportees being sent to New Zealand who have never even lived there, but happen to have citizenship.

Urban Geography
Three-fourths of the population live in cities on the North Island. It has no world city. Auckland is the largest and most cosmopolitan city with an urban area population of 1.557 million (2018) and is considered to be the economic and transportation hub of New Zealand. It comprises more Polynesians than any city in the world. It is located on the northern part of the North Island where the climate is subtropical. 86.37% of New Zealand's population is urban (2017). Largest rural to urban migration has occurred to Auckland. The drastic increase in Auckland's population has caused housing prices to go up significantly, though, the growth rate is slowing which is consistent with the country as a whole. Immigration and natural population increase have been the two most contributing factors for Auckland's recent growth. Immigrants have been attracted to Auckland more than any other area in New Zealand for its healthy economy. The annual rate of change in the country's urbanization is estimated to be 0.98% from 2015 to 2020. Urbanization that could have a negative impact on the environment require a Resource Consent. New Zealand ranks 11th on the list of top 20 environmental-friendly countries according to the 2016 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) produced by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy. Cities are spatially differentiated where the more educated and successful tend to live in the inner suburbs and suburbs with natural amenities while the less educated and less affluent tend to reside in the outer suburbs. One should note that the 86% urbanization figure that New Zealand's government lists could be inflated because New Zealand defines urbanization to include small towns as well as cities in that category where some other countries would only include cities over a certain population, ie, Japan urbanization is cities over 50,000. Thus, the way countries determine urbanization varies drastically making this sometimes an unreliable statistic. Cities in New Zealand are not all experiencing significant growth compared to Auckland and it suburbs which are growing the fastest. The cities that are growing have a younger population where the ones with little population growth or declining populations have an older non-working generation.