New Zealand in top

New Zealand - national parks and reservations - 10 points;

New Zealand - social and cultural presentation - 5 points;

New Zealand - present days situation - 8 points;

New Zealand - history - 4 points;

New Zealand - geographical presentation - 7 points.

Final points: (10+5+8+4+7)/5 = 6.8 points.

 

The next country presented in "The best place to live today" project will be Malaysia according to your votes.

New Zealand - national parks and reservations

Because of its long isolation from the rest of the world and its island biogeography, New Zealand has extraordinary fauna and flora, descended from Gondwana wildlife or since arriving by flying, swimming or being carried across the sea. About 80% of New Zealand's flora is endemic, including 65 endemic species. The two main types of forest are those dominated by podocarps and/or the giant kauri, and in cooler climates the southern beaches. The remaining vegetation types in New Zealand are grasslands of tussock and other grasses, usually in sub-alpine areas, and the low shrub lands between grasslands and forests.
Until the arrival of humans, 80% of the land was covered with forests. Until 2006 it was thought that there were no non-marine native mammals, barring three species of bats (one now extinct). However in 2006 scientists discovered bones that belonged to a long-extinct unique, mouse-sized  land animal in the Otago region of the South Island. A diverse range of megafauna inhabited New Zealand's forests, including the flightless moas (now extinct), four species of kiwi, the kakapo all endangered by human actions.

Unique birds capable of flight included the Haast's eagle, which was the world's largest bird of prey (now extinct), and the  kea parrots. Reptiles present in New Zealand include skinks, geckos and the living fossil tatuara. There are four endemic species of primitive frogs. There are no snakes and there is only one venomous spider, the katipo, which is rare and restricted to coastal regions. There are many endemic species of insect, including the weta, one species of which may grow as large as a mouse and is the heaviest insect in the world.


My grade for the unique habitat represented by the New Zealand's islands is 10.

New Zealand - social and cultural presentation

Much of contemporary New Zealand culture is derived from British roots. It also includes significant influences from American, Australian and Maori cultures, along with those of other European cultures and – more recently – non-Māori Asian cultures. Large festivals in celebration of  Diwali and Chinese New Year are held in several of the larger centres. The world's largest Polynesian festival, Pasifika, is an annual event in Auckland. Cultural links between New Zealand and the United Kingdom are maintained by a common language, sustained migration from the United Kingdom, and many young New Zealanders spending time in the United Kingdom on their overseas experience. The music and cuisine of New Zealand are similar to that of Australia, Canada, UK, and the US, although both have distinct New Zealand and Pacific qualities.
Maori culture has undergone considerable change since the arrival of Europeans; in particular the introduction of Christianity in the early 19th century brought about fundamental change in everyday life. Nonetheless the perception that most Māori now live similar lifestyles to their Pakeha neighbours is a superficial one. In fact, Māori culture has significant differences, for instance the important role which the Marae and the extended family continue to play in communal and family life.

Haka Dance

As in traditional times, Māori habitually perform karakia to ensure the favourable outcome of important undertakings, but today the prayers used are generally Christian. Māori still regard their allegiance to tribal groups as a vital part of personal identity, and Māori kinship roles resemble Polynesian people As part of the resurgence of Māori culture that came to the fore in the late 20th century, the tradition-based arts of kapa haka (song and dance), carving and weaving are now more widely practiced, and the architecture of the marae maintains strong links to traditional forms. Māori also value their connections to Polynesia, as attested by the increasing popularity of waka ama, which is now an international sport involving teams from all over the Pacific.

My grade for this category is 5.

New Zealand - present days situation

Historically New Zealand enjoyed a high standard of living which relied on its strong relationship with the United Kingdom, and the resulting stable market for its commodity exports. New Zealand's economy was also built upon on a narrow range of primary products, such as wool, meat and dairy products. High demand for these products – such as the New Zealand wool boom of 1951 created sustained periods of economic prosperity. However, in 1973 the United Kingdom joined the European Community which effectively ended this particularly close economic relationship between the two countries. During the 1970s other factors such as the oil crises undermined the viability of the New Zealand economy; which for periods before 1973 had achieved levels of living standards exceeding Australia. These events led to a protracted and very severe economic crisis, during which living standards in New Zealand fell behind those of Australia and Western Europe, and by 1982 New Zealand was the lowest in per capital income of all the developed nations surveyed by the Global Bank.
Agriculture has been and continues to be the main export industry in New Zealand. In the year to June 2007, dairy products accounted for 21% ($7.5 billion) of total merchandise exports, and the largest company of the country - Fonterra, a dairy corporation, controls almost one-third of the international dairy trade. Other agricultural items were meat 13.2%, wood 6.3%, fruit 3.5% and fishing 3.3%. New Zealand also has a thriving wine industry, which had a bumper year in 2007; wine became New Zealand's "12th most valuable export" in that year, overtaking wool exports.

Livestock are rarely housed, but are sometimes fed small quantities of supplements such as hay and silage, particularly in winter. Grass growth is seasonal, largely dependent on location and climatic fluctuations but normally occurs for between 8–12 months of the year. Stock are grazed in paddocks, often with movable electric fences around the farm. Lambing and calving are carefully managed to take full advantage of spring grass growth.

My grade for this category is 8.

New Zealand - history

New Zealand was first populated by tribes of Polynesians around 1.000 years ago. The first Europeans to land on this islands were Dutch explorers who are also responsible for the name of the country. They named the islands Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch region.
When James Cook arrived to these islands in his voyage 1768-1771 he anglicized the name transforming it into what we know today as New Zealand. The Maori aboriginals trade with the Europeans from which they borrowed the potato and the musket that modified for good their agriculture and warfare.

James Cook

Because the islands had no regulation at all and the French were more and more interested in colonizing it, the British decided in 1840 to send a Governor. This was the first documented paper on the existence of New Zealand. 
The first capital was Okiato in 1940, moved right next year in 1841 to Auckland, which is the actual biggest city. Between 1860 and 1870 fights for land were waged between the European colonists, more and more as number and local Maori.

Maori flag

In 1893 New Zealand became the first nation to allow women to vote. In 1907 New Zealand became a Dominion in the Commonwealth, wand 40 years obtained the independence from the Great Britain. However economical relations are still very strong and traditional routes are settled between these 2 countries.

Good points: relative stable politician and social climate, no wars waged on New Zealand's teritory
Weak points: very short history, no important historical events or characters, short period time of independence.

My grade for this category is 4.

New Zealand - geographical presentation

Located in the SW of Pacific Ocean, New Zealand is comprised mainly from 2 islands: the North Island and the South Island and lots of smaller islands. Its main physical attribute is the isolation as Australia is located at more than 2000 km of ocean. Besides the disadvantages of this isolation, this allowed the fauna develop new species no where else met but here.

Its population is mainly comprising: the descends of European colonists, Maori aboriginals and other Polynesian tribes. Nowadays New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a queen ruling.
With a surface of 268,021 square kilometers and a population of 4.3 million people New Zealand is after Australia the second most important country in Oceania region. With a very low density the government of New Zealand is encouraging immigration and you consider that almost a quarter of the actual population is born overseas you can see that it has good results.

English is the official language, while the official currency NZD (New Zealand Dollar). The island keeps an important heritage from Great Britain identified with the monarchy, left driving, English language. His short history doesn't mention any big trauma, only the second world war affected pretty much the country, when New Zealand fought into the Pacific along with Great Britain.

Advantages: - great opportunities to develop and raise your family, beautiful country side;
Disadvantages: - isolation, huge distances to any other country.

My final grade for this category is 7.